Entering the sleek and impressive lobby of Rotana’s newly-opened Centro Capital Centre in Abu Dhabi – all dark wood walls, mood lighting, concrete flooring, modern art and hip, groovy furnishings – it’s immediately clear that while Centro may be Rotana’s budget brand offering, aimed at cornering the region’s burgeoning mid-tier traveller, this hasn’t necessitated any scrimping on style.
The property is the fifth Centro by Rotana to open in the UAE (following Centro Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Centro Barsha, Dubai, Centro Sharjah and Centro Al Manhal, Abu Dhabi); and it’s now the fastest-growing brand for Rotana with 25 more properties set to launch across the Middle East and Africa by 2014.
Omer Kaddouri, executive vice president & COO, Rotana explains the target market: “The three-star brand is very undersupplied in all the areas we operate in, so we’ve decided to move into a more mid-tier level as opposed to a four or five-star level.
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“Centro is our fastest-growing brand and we think that will continue as demand for affordable accommodation offering comfort, functionality and style has never been stronger.”
It goes to show that first impressions can be deceiving – while Centro Capital Centre may look expensive on entering; it’s far from it. One area where the property is sticking firmly to the budget brief is on price – the hotel has launched with an opening room rate of just AED 225 (US $61) per night.
Style on a budget
So how has such a stylish look been achieved for a three-star brand? As with all Centro properties, top Dubai-based design firm LW Design has been brought on board.
Jesper Godsk, creative partner of the firm explains that in order to create the Centro style while sticking to a tight budget, LW Design had to be “very cost conscious” on the rooms.
“This means we can spend a bit more money on the front of house to give a more luxury feel when you walk in.”
Centro is officially a three-star brand; but Godsk trashes the notion that this rating means anything to today’s modern traveller — as these days a hotel’s TripAdvisor rating is likely to be far more important to potential guests.
“There’s always been a tendency to believe a lot in the star rating, but for today’s traveller the expectation is on the style, the attitude, the design, plus the rate and location.
“Today people expect something different, and now they can actually find it, without just going for a star-rating,” he adds. “That is why we started Centro, because we’ve seen a big, empty hole here.
In 2000 there were unbranded local hotels without any style reference and then there were the big hotels, and nothing in between.
Expectations have changed today so even on a lower budget you still expect more. If you’re not following on the trend of the global traveller you will lose out in the future that’s for sure.”
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