Future expansion
 With the brand now fine-tuned and firmly established, Yergatian says the owner GTG has a vision to open further properties in Doha, including a resort and city hotels, although they “are taking it one step at a time to make the right decision”.

“Our focus is mainly four-star because we see the market is there for budget hotels, four-star properties and three-star residences because that’s where the money is.

“There were some talks to expand in the Middle East region, but now we just want to establish here [in Qatar] because that’s the bread and butter,” asserts Yergatian.

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“There is great potential for Le Mirage Hospitality to expand.”

New Partner
Coming up next month is Le Mirage Hospitality’s launch of the four-star Amari Doha, owned by parent company GTG, which will mark the Middle Eastern debut of Thailand-based hotel management company Onyx Hospitality.

It’s also the first time Le Mirage has appointed a third-party operator to run one of its hotels.

Yergatian comments: “We know they have their own distribution, their own brand in Thailand and we thought we could get the leverage out of it because we don’t have all the systems in Le Mirage Hospitality, so we thought [we would appoint] a known group [from Asia], and give a twist to one of our properties — it will be Middle Eastern hospitality with a twist of Asian deliverables or service”.

The 120-room Amari Doha, scheduled to open on October 1, 2012, is located close to the Msheireb development — formerly known as Dohaland — and 15 minutes from Doha International Airport.

The hotel, which will target the corporate market, will feature a 24-hour restaurant, a cafe with deli and a rooftop lounge. It will also have a business centre, fitness centre, swimming pool and Breeze spa.

Onyx Hospitality president and chief executive officer Peter Henley describes the property as a “very classic, good Amari”.

“The slightly differentiating factor about it is that it will be dry — our first dry hotel,” reveals Henley.

“That’s what the owner wants and we’re quite comfortable with that. He understands that there’s a certain segment that won’t come to the hotel but there’s also a segment that wouldn’t otherwise do so.

“We were quite keen to do it because I think that will become more and more relevant in the Middle East, or to a segment of that marketplace,” says Henley.

Onyx Hospitality’s entrance to the Middle East is part of a major expansion plan targeting a total of 80 properties by 2018.

Currently, the group has 34 operating hotels and a confirmed pipeline of 11.

“We’re looking at signed contracts to go up to 45 in the next couple of years,” says Henley. “I have a 10-year plan — by 2018 to become a leading Asian hospitality provider," he asserts.

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