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.
Future Plans
Indeed, the pressure will be on come April with the team relying on the Jabal Akhdar development to blaze a trail for the brand in the Middle East.
“The success of the opening of Jabal Akhdar will hopefully give us an inside track on future projects,” Edleson comments. “While our brand is not particularly well known in this region, we hope that our product will speak loudly.”
Flaeat-Simon agrees, adding: “I think we’re being tested to see what we can do with this property. It’s in our hands as the operator to successfully open the hotel.”
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Key to this success will be delivering a guest experience that is consistent with Alila, and being smart about building the brand name, which will take time and patience, explains Flaeat-Simon: “You don’t just open a hotel in Jabal Akhdar and expect it to be 100% occupancy from day one,” he comments.
“This is a new destination for luxury and we obviously have to create awareness of what our brand stands for. I think getting people to experience the property is the best way to do that.”
With 20 projects in the pipeline, which according to the team “is a sizeable number for a small brand” — and with plans for more, including another Omani development in Salalah — Alila has its hands full.
Flaeat-Simon claims that he is in no hurry to bombard the Middle East with Alila resorts, explaining that the company’s strategy is less about quantity, and more about quality.
“For us it’s not just about the number of hotels we have,” he comments. “We want to be proud of each property and build a collection that we are emotionally attached to and that we can really bring the Alila experience to.
A lot of our brand focus is for South East Asia, China and India, but now the Middle East is coming,” Flaeat-Simon concludes, highlighting his firm belief that the brand is bound to make a name for itself here, because modern luxury travellers everywhere, including the Middle East, are looking for ‘the Alila experience’.
“What the young affluent traveller perceives as luxury is evolving,” he says. “I think what’s interesting is that the more sophisticated your clientele is, the more they want a real-life experience — something they will cherish.”
“To be frank, there are plenty of great luxury hotels in the world but if we can give guests the experience that we had of sitting with the Majlis Oman having a traditional Halwa served hot then that’s something they will remember for the rest of their lives. We’re starting with a great property and a great product so hopefully this will lead to some exciting projects”.
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