Marketing strategy
Originally conceived in 2008, a delay in construction meant that this property took six years to come to fruition, however, from a marketing perspective this has been a blessing in disguise according to Lunn, who has been on board since September 2012, making him the longest serving member of the team.
“The timing of Travel Brilliantly and the whole brand refresh happened perfectly in that we could adapt what was already planned to allow Marriott to have a showcase property for the new branding.
“With the growth of the group in the MEA, the regional team will bring future owners here to show them what their new properties are going to look like. The benefit that we have of being the first on-brand property in the Middle East is that we’re actually able to ride on the back of the global marketing campaign that started last year, so we’ll take that messaging and put it out locally,” Lunn explains.
| Advertisement |
However, one challenge that he admits he will face in marketing the property, is convincing potential guests that it’s in a convenient location. “Some people will think this hotel is in the middle of nowhere,” Lunn comments.
“I totally disagree with that. The main marketing strategy for me is to be really positive about the location. We’re less than 10 minutes to Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping mall; we’re less than 10 minutes to DIFC, which is a growing financial centre with worldwide prominence; we’re less than 10 minutes to terminals one and three – the main international hubs for the airport.
We’re also less than 10 minutes to Bur Dubai, to Business Bay, to Silicon Oasis. We’ll probably see that around 70% of guests are here for business and the balance will be for leisure. The likes of Dubai Mall will drive that leisure demand.”
Al Jamal agrees, adding that he is positive about demand for the foreseeable future, particularly in the wake of the recent Expo 2020 announcement.
“The Dubai market will continue to enjoy a really good demand for years to come,” he says. “With Expo 2020 and with Dubai being very well established on the world map we’re not worried about people coming, we just need to make sure we’re competitive enough to take our fair share of this supply.”
Article continues on next page ...
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
