Dubai Pearl CEO discusses project's progress
Dubai Pearl founder and CEO Santhosh Joseph and RMAL Hospitality CEO Anthony Liddiard reveal why it is so important that the AED 7.4 billion development brings a new hotel proposition to the emirate, and why brands such as MGM will make such a difference
Considering the number of projects in Dubai that have been put on hold, cancelled, or conveniently forgotten, you would be forgiven for wondering whether the 20 million ft², AED 7.4 billion (US $2 billion) Dubai Pearl superstructure had gone by the wayside.
Aside from a few stylish billboards which are lining Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai Pearl has kept fairly quiet about the development in recent months, but the silence belies both continual planning and ongoing construction.
During a visit to the Dubai Pearl office last month, it became clear that the team have been working around the clock to deliver this 24-hour city within a city, which the developer’s founder and CEO Santhosh Joseph promises will be an “epicentre of entertainment”.
He reels off the list of components that will make the Dubai Pearl “truly a mixed-use development”: commercial space, residences, retail, entertainment, theatres, wellness, music, art, fashion, 60 F&B outlets, and what Hotelier is most concerned with; seven five-star hotels.
The project has already been both demolished and redesigned since its conception in 2007, because “we felt the old design was not up to the mark” says Joseph, who speaks from 20 years of experience in developing and executing investment strategies in the real estate market.
Now though, he is confident that it is a sustainable development, in which every component will complement the other.
“When I say sustainable, I’m not just talking about the Gold LEED Certification [that Dubai Pearl is targeting for the entire development]. I’m talking about sustainability in terms of everything being connected; we believe in creating a spirit within the project. It should be sustainable and the maintenance cost is something else [important] — there are various figures being circulated in the market for property maintenance and property management cost, but we started working at least two years back in terms of keeping it at a cost that was sustainable for people owning property at Dubai Pearl, whether it is a hotel, shopping or residence. Sustainability is not just environmental but also economical, and it must be socially sustainable too,” explains Joseph.
“We believe that Dubai Pearl by itself is a compelling proposition,” he adds
Branded hotels
One significant change in the Dubai Pearl design was in the growth of the hotel portfolio, which increased from three hotels to seven when the masterplan was changed. Hotels will now cover 19% of the total area, and entertainment, retail, and F&B combined will account for 13%.
These seven hotels are already underway, but only four brands have been announced — Baccarat, Bellagio, MGM Grand and Skylofts — and Joseph doesn’t expect to reveal the remaining three operators until the end of 2011.
There were reports at the end of 2009 that Dubai Pearl was in talks with Formula One team McLaren to brand a hotel and residences, and collateral at the Dubai Pearl office describes a “speed hotel”, a “fashion hotel” and a “wellness hotel” as being on the cards, but Joseph insists these are merely “code names”.
So, what can we expect from the major US imports already signed and what else does Dubai Pearl have to surprise us with?
This is where Dubai Pearl’s subsidiary, RMAL Hospitality, comes in. Headed up by chief executive officer Anthony P. Liddiard, who previously spent 23 years working with InterContinental Hotels Group in the Middle East, RMAL Hospitality is responsible for all the hospitality aspects of Dubai Pearl.
Along with Joseph and his team, Liddiard has worked tirelessly to research countless hotel brands and negotiate the deals that are the “right fit” for Dubai Pearl.
“What Santhosh’s vision has been is that we don’t want to be ‘same old, same old’; we don’t want to bring brands that are already here — that doesn’t go with what the whole vision of what Dubai Pearl is. What we have come up with so far is absolutely perfect for what Dubai Pearl is all about,” asserts Liddiard.
The team was the first to secure the Baccarat hotel concept, which is designed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts founder Barry Sternlicht around the well known Baccarat crystal brand.
Baccarat are currently developing two other properties, says Joseph, with one in Shanghai possibly to open before the Dubai Pearl hotels, which are due to be delivered in 2014.
Meanwhile, Liddiard says the three properties with MGM Resorts International have been tailored specifically to the Dubai market.
“They will absolutely project the same MGM [Grand] and Bellagio experience as in Las Vegas but obviously without the gambling and casino element. These brands have got so much pizzazz, glamour and glitz and they work like a magnet to attract people.
“That is why we went with the MGM, the Bellagio; we’ve been to Vegas, we’ve seen their hotels, we’ve seen what they can do, and we know that working with them we can bring something to Dubai that is going to be different from the existing hotel proposition here,” says Liddiard.
In addition, Liddiard is also focused on finding new brands which are as yet unexposed to the Middle East in terms of F&B. Some of these will be brands RMAL can potentially franchise and roll out elsewhere — the company is already behind the growth of Frankie’s, Wagamama, Trader Vic’s and MPW Steakhouse and Grill in the region — and others will be exclusive to Dubai Pearl.
“All of the existing RMAL brands will be incorporated, but it’s a huge coordination exercise. If you can imagine it, we’re almost putting in an entire F&B component for a city,” says Liddiard.
“As Santhosh mentioned before, we’re looking at 60 different restaurants, cafés, lounges, nightclubs, and also don’t forget that each of these hotel brands come with their own food and beverage outlets as well. We’re looking at the total masterplan. We’ve gone down to the details so we won’t have cross over of each hotel having an Italian restaurant or what have you, so that every hotel will have its own definition in terms of its food and beverage proposition. Then the F&B that’s married to the retail will again all fit.
“We’re not going to be selecting the same old brands for the sake of it. We’re actually going to be looking at what exciting new brands are going to add value to Dubai Pearl,” he asserts.
But is there really a need for these luxury hotel brands, the wealth of entertainment and multiple restaurants? Absolutely, say Joseph and Liddiard simultaneously.
“Even in 2009 or 2010 when we looked around, I think Dubai has still achieved the best occupancy rate and [performed] much better than any other regional market,” says Joseph.
“There is enough experience in Dubai Pearl and we believe real estate follows a cycle, you’ll never see it always going up alone, take the last 20 years, every four /five years you’ll see the cycle and always it comes back much stronger. And it depends on the location and as you know we are one of the best locations — I don’t think anyone will argue with us on that. The best located projects always bounce back much, much earlier than projects on the outskirts. We believe in Dubai’s future, we are building for the future,” he asserts.
Liddiard backs him up: “We think as well that in 2014 we have absolute faith in Dubai and we believe that by the time we open in 2014, these brands will be absolutely ready to come into the market”.