Even the regular rooms are very spacious, with high ceilings, full windows and balconies every guest gets a good view. Even the regular rooms are very spacious, with high ceilings, full windows and balconies every guest gets a good view.

New Entrant
Like many hoteliers in Dubai, Tunisian-born Bizid comes from the Jumeirah stable, having worked his way up the ranks at Jumeirah Emirates Towers and then opening The Meydan for Jumeirah.

He’s been in Dubai for close to 20 years and now clearly relishes his role heading up a new brand in the emirate, where he is determined to make an impact with both the corporate market and the Dubai community.

“I can’t recall any five-star luxurious hotel locating on the top, high end of the building business centre and meeting rooms. They would normally use it for the largest suite, presidential or panoramic.

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We wanted to give added value to the corporate clients and business partners and we have raised them on the 26th floor. The executive boardrooms have a private balcony, ceiling-to-floor windows and are all equipped with latest technology,” he says.

“We are definitely a corporate hotel and if I follow the Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing statistics, Europe and UK remain strong leading destinations inbound for us as well as the GCC so we have set our standard and set our niches there, without neglecting Asia and South America which are increasingly a very strong path year on year.

“We have offices in London and one in New York and while we have several international sales offices in both Singapore and Germany, the UK and US are strong markets for us. However, KSA, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman are not to be neglected; they are the second strongest market here and that’s where we have concentrated our efforts.”

The Oberoi, Dubai is also planning to call upon the group’s strong ties with established corporate clients such as Standard Chartered, Ernst & Young and Emirates Airline.

“We are going to these groups and tying up with them for the Oberoi brand. We have our offices, which have been operating for years, and we are building on that strength and presence to create success here for the Dubai property,” asserts Bizid.

Working with the local travel trade is also important, with partnerships already secured with the likes of Arabian Adventures, Alpha Tours, Arab Link, Orient Tours, Travco and Dnata.
“They are definitely building 30% of our business so we cannot neglect them. They are extremely strong in the region,” says Bizid.

When it comes to appealing to the Dubai resident base, Bizid hopes the F&B will become a real draw. The signature Indian restaurant, Ananta, has been created by master chef Rais Ahmed, who has worked with Oberoi for 42 years and the group’s new talent, chef de cuisine Saneesh Varguese, who is keen to get his name out in the market.

“Chef Rais is an Indian gentlemen who has worked at Oberoi Mena House, in Cairo, so his secret and talent is he managed to give and change the Indian food being served to the taste and the needs of the GCC customer. No other group has done that. He speaks perfect Arabic.

He is a unique colleague,” says Bizid. “So The Oberoi’s success in F&B [will be down to] its people, listening to the customer and giving them what they want —simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.”

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