In an exclusive interview with HotelierMiddleEast.com at Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC), Pascal Gauvin, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) COO India, Middle East & Africa said that 350 staff are to be hired for Intercontinental Dubai Marina and that the executive committee is almost complete.
Gauvin commented: “The team is in already, we have the GM, the number two, we are recruiting department heads; the hotel is really being brought to life.”
The general manager, Michael Martin, has been appointed having come from a similar role in China overseeing four IHG hotels in Beijing. Martin will oversee the entire IHG portfolio in the UAE. “Martin understands the brand very well,” added Gauvin. “He is very excited about this opportunity. The number two comes from Germany, and the director of rooms is French so we’re assembling a team of winning players – the best players.”
The hotel, due to open in November this year, will according to Gauvin be “trendy” and “edgy” with a major focus on food and beverage. Gauvin commented: “It’s going to be edgy, with a lot of food and beverage, including Jason Atherton’s first restaurant in the Middle East.
“There’s a beautiful pool on a podium overlooking the Marina which at night will become a bar and the place to party. We want to cater for a population that is young in age and going out very often.”
InterContinental Dubai Marina will include 132-hotel rooms as well as 196-studio, one, two, three and four-bedroom residential apartments.
The next Dubai pipeline opening, the 280-room Crowne Plaza Dubai Marina is due to open in 2016.
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