Competing in Qatar
Fraser Suites Doha general manager Mustapha Henini tells Louise Birchall how the new luxury serviced apartments are well positioned to capitalise on a business boom in Doha over the next decade ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Fraser Suites Doha, a luxury serviced apartments property and Frasers Hospitality’s first Qatar project, opened in September 2011 with the remit of capitalising on the growing business sector in the capital and using its commitment to service to stand out from the crowd.
The ‘crowd’ refers to the 90,000 or so units that Qatar aims to open in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but Fraser Suites Doha general manager, Mustapha Henini, is undeterred by the competition.
“Currently there are only 16,000 hotel units available in Doha so there’s a long way to go in the next 10 years,” says Henini, who moved to Qatar in February to take up his current role having worked at the four-star Fraser Queensgate in South Kensington, London previously.
Demand for accommodation in Qatar outweighs supply particularly when it is host to various events, Henini says, and while this is likely to change in the future if the state reaches its goal of quadrupling the number of hotel rooms, he believes there will always be room for the hotel-apartment concept.
Since opening in September, Henini says the property has been running at more than 70% occupancy with some one-year guest contracts already signed.
Average length of stay is currently hovering around the five-six night mark, but Fraser Suites Doha is targeting an average stay of 35-40 nights in the long-term to stabilise occupancy and act as a buffer for slumps in the market.
The group is at the advantage of being able to cross sell the new Doha property and its hotels already located in Bahrain and Dubai, with more to come in the Middle East in the future.
In terms of market segments, Fraser Suites Doha mostly attracts business travellers from the GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but Henini expects this to change in the future.
“Qatar is well known for its corporate market — 80% is corporate, 20% is leisure — but we will see the leisure market start to develop.
“The government is certainly thinking ahead. In 10 years’ time it will probably be 40-50% leisure and 50% corporate.”
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New markets
When it comes to trends, Henini draws on similarities between the emerging Qatar hotel market and Singapore more than 10 years ago, where Frasers Hospitality began in 1998.
He recalls: “When we started in Singapore, the serviced-apartment market wasn’t very mature. Out of 4000 rooms only 300 were serviced apartments so there was a big gap.
“We did a lot right to set the benchmark, but 10 years on the game changes, this year we’ve opened more properties and each one is trying to outdo the next.
“Technology and hotel ‘hardware’ keep evolving, but if you’re always advancing the facilities to keep up with the market, you run the risk of forgetting the roots.” Henini says Frasers’ roots lie in the software — its service.
“Everyone can catch up where hardware is concerned, tomorrow will always be swankier, but if you get your service right that will stand the test of time.”
However, that has not stopped the hotel group from refurbishing its older Singapore properties to keep up with the ever-changing needs of the corporate traveller. “These days, connectivity is key,” Henini says.
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On the bandwagon
The corporate traveller is the most lucrative market for brands such as Frasers, and as more corporate travellers opt for serviced residences over traditional hotel rooms, other hotel brands are adding the apartment concept to take a slice of the pie.
“The market has evolved and not just in the Middle East. We’re running at 90% occupancy at our four Singapore properties.
“Everybody is starting to move into serviced residences. It makes sense,” Henini says. “In Doha there is the Kempinski serviced apartments and now Marriott Executive Apartments.
“I am seeing a lot of big-name global hotel groups moving towards a mix of hotel accommodation and serviced residences.
“Serviced apartments are something new in the global market, more and more people are looking for this product,” observes Henini.
He says facilities, flexibility and value for money are driving the demand for hotel apartments.
“You can stay in a hotel three or four days then it feels crowded. Fraser Suites Doha offers a home-from-home, with big kitchens. You can rent the room for a meeting or for a year.
“We take the headache from the guest; a lot of companies want a longer stay but don’t want a tenancy agreement or to have to worry about bills, they just want to check in like at a hotel — it’s a flexible arrangement.”
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A new GM ballgame
Managing a serviced apartment is quite a different ballgame to managing a hotel, however. The general manager is less of a host and more of a friend to the long-staying guests who he sees daily around the property.
“We listen to our customers and the feedback that we receive, so it is nice for the general manager to say ‘hello’ — people from the Middle East in particular want that personal touch,” observes Henini.
Unlike many traditional hotels, food and beverage plays a minor role in revenue generation, with the Fraser Suites Doha revenue split 4:1 between rooms and F&B respectively.
However, Henini expects this to increase slightly when he opens the hotel’s main restaurant to the public over the coming weeks.
Henini also hopes to exploit Fraser Suites Doha’s food and beverage potential with the future addition of a pool bar (non-alcoholic as the hotel is dry) on the hotel’s roof-top terrace and pool area. Furthermore, there are plans to market the lobby café as a high-tea area.
The gym and spa will also be available to non-guests, on a selective corporate membership basis as another revenue generator.
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Getting things done
Henini was on the ground in Qatar five months before the property opened and as part of the pre-opening team, witnessed some of the unique challenges of being a hotelier in the Middle East first hand.
“There is a lot more involvement here from the owner. On one hand it’s good because you get their support and financially it’s very secure, but it all comes down to the relationship with the general manager.
“Staffing’s a little challenging in Qatar too but we did our recruitment in Dubai and used a recruitment agency. We now have a multi-national team of 108 comprising 20 nationalities and we’re aiming to increase that to 25.”
Around 10% of the property’s staff base has come from existing Fraser properties worldwide.
Henini also reported challenges with suppliers, saying that Qatar is a suppliers’ market and there is room for more companies to drive down prices of goods.
“Having worked in London, we’re very used to efficiency and here it’s very unpredictable, you have to work hard to get a result, here it’s a very different culture,” he adds.
“I speak a little Arabic which helps and you just have to adapt — this is a developing country moving in the right direction; if you look at Dubai 20 years ago it was probably the same.”
While Qatar may pose some resemblance to Dubai 20 years ago, the state is keen to learn from mistakes the emirate may have made.
“The saying here is we’re following in the steps of Dubai without making the mistakes.
“Qatar is still in the early stages of development and there is a need for the service industry to improve, but Frasers can capitalise on bringing the good service here.”
One of the first of many new hotels to open, Fraser Suites Doha is well placed to attract the business travellers that will influx Doha following the opening of the new Qatar Convention Centre and as the city prepares for hosting the FIFA World Cup, with major accommodation and infrastructure projects underway.
“It’s very vibrant city, business is booming, we want to be a part of that. Everyone will be here in Qatar after a year or two and in the meantime we need to build the relationships to keep our customers coming back,” concludes Henini.