The Alila team shot onsite at Vida Hotel, Dubai (from left): Julian Ayers regional VP for ME & India; Mark Edleson, president; Frederic Flaeat-Simon, chief executive.
Keeping Cool
So what makes up this “brand DNA” that has taken eight years to be replicated in the Middle East? Heralded by UK publication The Sunday Times as ‘The Coolest Chain in the World’, Alila’s portfolio of hotel resorts throughout India and Asia-Pacific promise “purpose-driven architecture with dramatic and individual style centering on holistic destination experiences”.
A major focus for the operator is adapting to suit the destination: “We see ourselves as artisans,” explains Flaeat-Simon. “It’s like working on a new painting; we use our experience as a luxury operator but we don’t come in and say ‘these are your brand standards, follow them A-Z’. We get the team to create their own canvas based on the destination.”
With this in mind, the team is aware that placing Alila in the Middle Eastern luxury market may present certain challenges. “With the rapid development of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, the preferred sort of luxury has been the glitz and the bling, but that’s not really our style,” explains Edleson. “We would have to find that unique location; whether a coastal or a desert location, it would have to be something special.”
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Flaeat-Simon agrees, and suggests that in this part of the world a focal point for him is nomadic desert life, which he feels is something that could be reconnected with through the brand; however, he highlights pitfalls even with this: “The danger is that it cannot be a gimmick.
If you take a hotel and add some camels and create a story around it, guests that are well-travelled will not be interested. There has to be a real connection to a real culture. This is why we’re so excited about Jabal Akhdar — we don’t have to invent things, we just have to showcase them.”
With the brand’s focus on destinations that promise a unique culture and heritage, which Alila properties then — as Flaeat-Simon puts it — “catalyse”, it’s no wonder that the team has chosen Oman as the first Middle Eastern destination to dip its toes into.
“I think Oman is a great place for us to start because of all the gulf countries, Omani history is extremely interesting and the culture is perhaps more accessible than in other places in the gulf,” explains Edleson. “Our brand is very much focused on unique and interesting physical and cultural environments and Jabal Akhdar fits that perfectly.”
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