Recession busters

Toufic Tamim, vice president sales and marketing ? Middle East for M?venpick Hotels & Resorts Management FZ-LLC

Hotelier presents a round-up of the success stories from some of the most proactive hotel groups operating in the region

MÖVENPICK HOTELS & RESORTS

In 2010, MÖvenpick opened two milestone properties in Dubai. Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach, which opened in March, is a contemporary upscale five-star hotel with 294 modern guest rooms offering a “fresh, funky and distinctive experience”. In October, the group opened Ibn Battuta Gate,a five-star 396-room property inspired by the journeys of the 14th century Arabian explorer, Ibn Battuta.

Toufic Tamim, vice president sales and marketing — Middle East for Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Management FZ-LLC, commented: Our portfolio has grown to 23 properties in the Middle East and the response has been strong. Our focus on offering quality of service and exciting dining experiences to our guests has helped us to ensure good business.

“We currently have 15 projects under development in the region and this is an indication of the growth prospects for the Mövenpick brand and how we have been able to identify opportunities, despite the global economic climate.

“Overall, our hotels are obtaining stable occupancies mainly in countries that have not been strongly affected by the global financial crisis, including Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. Dubai has experienced a rather significant downturn in ARR with low occupancy during the summer months. However, the market has rebounded swiftly after Ramadan,” said Tamin.

He added that MÖvenpick had seen a 15% increase in the corporate segment across its hotels in the region in 2010 over 2009, a trend he expects to see continue in 2011.

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Rezidor area vice president Marko HytÖnen describes 2010 as a “ramp up year” for the group, with new inventory added to some of the eight hotels it launched in 2009 and the full opening of the 427-room Radisson Blu Hotel, Cairo Heliopolis at the start of 2010.

“I think for sure the Radisson Blu Hotel, Cairo Heliopolis was an important opening for us,” said HytÖnen. “Cairo is a key city within this region and we have wanted a presence there for some time — it was about finding the right opportunity. This is a brand new, 427-room hotel in the heart of the Heliopolis district. The hotel offers fantastic meetings and events facilities including a large ballroom and SEVEN meeting rooms.

“This is our second city hotel IN egypt following the opening of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Alexandria in 2009.”

HytÖnen said that Saudi Arabia and Egypt were the strongest performers in 2010, with guest demand growing for all inclusive packages in the latter.

“With Saudi, the economic growth, government spending and religious tourism have all resulted in an increase in activity,” commented HytÖnen. “Egypt has experienced unbelievable growth following the downturn and particularly the resorts have proven extremely popular this year — people are looking for adventures, open to trying new destinations and the all inclusive offerings in these locations make them very attractive options.”

He said that November looked to be the group’s best performing month across the region, and that that company has once again kept firm control of costs.

“We successfully implemented our 'Hedging 4 Turbulence' cost saving initiative in 2009, which resulted in annual savings of EUR 36 million (US $48.5 million) across the company. The impact of this really kicked in during this year where we have managed to do more with less. By keeping a tight reign of our fixed costs we have so far managed to maintain the 2009 level,” concluded HytÖnen.