Tarek el Sheif, the managing director of V.Five Continents Hospitality Group says that dry hotels are increasing in popularity as more GCC families an Tarek el Sheif, the managing director of V.Five Continents Hospitality Group says that dry hotels are increasing in popularity as more GCC families an

 Tarek el Sherif, managing director of V.Five Continents Hospitality Group, talks to Hotelier magazine about the mass appeal of dry hotels.

When a hotel operator announces they run a dry hotel, they more often than not act immediately defensive when asked about it, quickly citing figures for business travellers whose companies prefer them not to be near temptation, families who don’t want any chance of rowdiness or simply those who don’t drink alcohol and don’t wish to stay somewhere that serves it.

But Tarek el Sherif, managing director of V.Five Continents Hospitality Group, is happy to explain that the company runs dry hotels — and seeks out owners who wish to do so — for purely religious reasons.

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It was a straightforward decision for the company — which is a part of Emirates Associate Business Group (EABG) — and el Sherif says that many owners have actually approached V.Five Continents, as they too like the idea of running hotels which do not serve alcohol.

“In the beginning [when dry hotels first came onto the market], I think a lot of hotel companies were afraid to tap into the dry hotel concept — they were worried they would not make money and asked ‘how can you operate a hotel without a bar, how can our restaurants serve food without wine?’,” he says.

“But then there were a number of owners who said ‘I don’t want to serve alcohol in my hotel, yet I want to work in the hospitality industry’, so it was a little bit of an equation that somebody had to find the solution for.

“Some of the hotel companies were brave enough to start, so they managed the hotels for owners who wanted dry hotels, which in turn encouraged some other companies to come and do it, and there are very successful stories in the market with dry hotels now,” he adds.

Clientele
These success stories have been particularly popular with GCC families, says el Sherif, unsurprising since this is clearly the target audience for dry hotels.

But what is surprising is that a large number of the guests at dry hotels are business travellers — who el Sherif says choose hotels based on price point and location.

“It comes down to your position in the market,” he says.

“It has to do with your marketing and the price of the rooms as well. Essentially, if you are offering good service at a reasonable price then people are interested in your hotel.

“In my opinion business travellers do not come to the UAE to have alcohol, they come here to do business — so if there is a business traveller coming over here, whether they choose to stay in this hotel or that hotel, alcohol is not a decision maker for them,” he asserts.