With an average of eight new openings a year and a target to grow its portfolio to 100 hotels by 2020, regional chain Rotana Hotels is one of the most dynamic operators in the Middle East.
In just 21 years, the company has come a long way and with each new achievement, its ambition grows higher still.
To find out an update on expansion, renovation and company strategy, Hotelier Middle East gathered a group of Rotana general managers at Media Rotana Dubai and hosted an exclusive roundtable, sponsored by sustainability specialists, Diversey.
| Advertisement |
What are Rotana Hotels’ priorities for 2013?
Thomas Tapken: As a hotel operator, until the end of 2013, our prime goal is to satisfy all our customers, to meet their needs and to give them a global service in a local environment. Also, our hotels are getting broader, we are upgrading.
By 2020 we want to have 100 hotels; today we have 47 operating hotels. We have nearly 12,000 employees in the region. So it’s quite a tremendous growth rate. We are going into Jordan, we are going into Turkey and hopefully opening at the end of the year in Salalah, Oman with 400 rooms. Amman is coming up hopefully this year as well.
You have emphasised the need to give guests what they want. How do you approach that?
Thomas: We believe that the guest is not a room number, the guest has a name. We have approximately 40 different training courses for our colleagues.
There is an induction programme, where you get the basic training, the greeting, the complaint escalation systems, which will be implemented to make sure that every requirement of the guest is fulfilled within 30 minutes.
How is that being implemented at the individual properties?
Rabih Melham: At Media Rotana, we believe strongly in developing talent. So we focus a lot on training and attracting new individuals to our property. We are actually the first hotel that started with the escalation of guest complaints.
For example, if the guest has made any request for the room, and if this is not attended to within 10-15 minutes, then it will go to the higher level, then it will reach me as the general manager.
Is that usually the way it works – different strategies tested at different properties?
Thomas: That is the advantage of being a chain. You pick one hotel depending on which system you want to implement and here [at Media Rotana] we have high traffic, high occupancy, high turnover in guests so it’s an ideal scenario to test a system like this, contrary to a beach property where guests stay for seven days.
You mentioned upgrades; which hotels are being renovated?
Thomas: I would say presently, in my region, out of 20 hotels, 17 have a project ongoing. There is upgrading.
Rabih: At Media Rotana we currently have 460 keys and are in the process of converting our apartment tower to hotel rooms. We have two towers so therefore we are looking at an increase of another 80 keys.
So basically we will be at 540 keys by mid next year. We believe as a five-star hotel located in this area, there is high demand for hotel rooms vs. hotel apartments, especially with the area being surrounded with a lot of hotel apartments, it’s a bit of a challenge for us to compete. We believe going forward, especially in 2014, there will be higher demands for hotels from the corporate segment and MICE segment as well.
Francisco Giles: We have 200 unfurnished apartments. Those will be branded very soon as Park Residences by Rotana. There is one other in Doha with the same brand, which is a new brand for unfurnished apartments.
Looking at the different markets, what trends do you see in Abu Dhabi?
Mark Deere: On Yas Island we have the Rotana, which is a 308-room hotel and then the Centro, which is a 259-room hotel. And by having both together, you really appeal to all the different markets.
Sherif Madkour: Al Maha Arjaan in Abu Dhabi is one of the oldest hotels with 12 years in operation. It is very well established in the market and we are running at almost 90% occupancy so it is doing very well.
We have lots of yearly-contracted long stay guests, mostly from oil field companies as well as other segmentations, we have a bit of tour operator business and MICE business. We have a total renovation coming up. We are in the final stage of the design right now. It’s a very fresh, concept — a new look for the Arjaan brand.
Article continues on next page ...
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
