Dubai's H&H in talks to launch beachfront hotel

Dubai’s H&H Investment and Development, the company behind the 014 tower in Business Bay, is in talks to launch a five-star hotel in Dubai, its CEO said.

The developer is negotiating with hotel operators to open a beachside property in the emirate, Shahab Lufti told Arabian Business.

“We haven’t announced it yet and we should break ground soon... We are pitching for a few hotel [operators],” Lufti said at the launch of the $81m O14 commercial tower.

“I think hospitality is a good business and a viable strategy for Dubai. Hotels in the long–term will benefit.”

Real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle said last week the emirate’s hotel market would be one of the first to see a rise in property prices in 2011, driven by a rise in the budget sector.

“[The sector] will see a departure from the grandiosity of previous projects, often driven by publicity and ego, and a return to fundamentals,” the consultancy said.

Dubai will see 30,000 additional hotel rooms added over the next five years to the current supply of about 50,0000, Deloitte said in December.

The number of visitors would need to rise to about 12 million annually from 9.5 million now to fill the hotels, the auditing company said.