LIVE FROM ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET 2014: DAY TWO

Welcome to HotelierMiddleEast.com's rolling live coverage of day two Arabian Travel Market 2014. We'll bring you all the latest announcements from the event at Dubai World Trade Centre, exclusive news and essential industry gossip...

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06.00pm: We're almost at the end of another day here at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The halfway point of ATM 2014 has arrived and there is no doubt still plenty of news, announcements and gossip to come. We'll all be back here tomorrow, so we hope you'll join us again.

05.55pm: HotelierMiddleEast.com spoke to the GM of Royal Rose Hotel in Abu Dhabi, which has had its soft opening over the last few months. He told us about how the hotel will be making a push for more Chinese guests with a numebr of staff speaking the language, Chinese food and even Chinese TV channels.

05.45pm: Gloria Hotels has announced the Gloria Downtown Hotel in Abu Dhabi is to open its doors in Q4 this year. A 300 – room hotel is also confirmed for Jeddah and Freddy Farid, area general manager is hoping that the company will secure a deal for a Gloria hotel in Muscat by September. Fingers crossed!

Gloria Hotels & Resorts is also looking to work with more tour operators to attract the South American and South African MICE markets. If you’re a tour operator and you want to find out more, why not visit the team at the Gloria Hotels & Resorts stand – HC5470?

05.40pm: Al Khozama Management company is to open 5000 rooms within 10 years in major cities in Saudi Arabia across its brands. The company which currently has six operating hotels will add four additional hotels.. more to come on this story shortly. As it stands, there are no plans for development outside KSA due to the company’s strict Shari’ah compliancy.

05.30pm: It’s back! Tsogo Sun has finally re-entered the UAE with the opening of Southern Sun Abu Dhabi, located in the capital’s Tourist Club area. Tsogo Sun formerly operated two hotels in Downtown Dubai , Qamardeen and Al Manzil, before owner Emaar took management in house. The properties have since been rebranded as Vida Downtown Dubai and Manzil Downtown Dubai, with the latter just announced at ATM yesterday.

05.15pm: More news in from Accor, which is set to complete its first Ibis Styles hotel in the Middle East by the end of the year, with a view to opening early in 2015. The 249-room hotel is part of owner Nakheel’s extension of Dragon Mart in Dubai, located on the road to Hatta. Accor expects demand for more Ibis Styles, which don’t need to follow the rigid design of the traditional Ibis brand, with franchising expected to be a route to expansion. The French operator will also have four Adagio aparthotels open in the Middle East by the end of 2014, with three more under development in Saudi Arabia. In total, Accor has opened six hotels in the region so far this year, with eight more to come.

05.00pm: Six Senses has been quiet for a while, but our exclusive interview with the company’s president Bernhard Bohnenberger, better known as BB, reveals a wealth of projects under development, some not too far from home! Under construction are projects in Bhutan, China and Seychelles, while there are resorts under design in Taiwan and Tunisia. In the Middle East, BB revealed talks were underway in Saudi Arabia and for a “remote site in Abu Dhabi”, and that a project signed several years ago in Oman was still on the cards. He said development of Six Senses Spas was also accelerating, with the long-awaited Six Senses Spa at Al Bustan Palace, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Muscat due to open by the end of this year. Keep an eye on HotelierMiddleEast.com for more news from Six Senses!

04.45pm: Minor Hotel Group has taken over the management of the former Le Meridien Barbarons Beach Hotel in the Seychelles, which is currently closed for an eight-month renovation. It will re-open in the fourth quarter of 2014 following a US &8mn refurbishment as the Avani Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa.

04:30pm: Hotels in Ras Al Khaimah reported a combined revenue of US $400 million in 2013, not including the US$ 250million in F&B revenue. RK TDA's Steven Rice revealed Q1 hotel revenues in the emirate are up $250mn year-to-date.

04:25pm: Hotelier just met with RAK TDA CEO Steven Rice, who told us the 442-key Crowne Plaza RAK, which was planned for a 2015 opening is currently on hold, with no opening date in sight. 

04:15pm: FRHI Hotels & Resorts has announced seven new hotels for the MEA and India region. In Saudi Arabia, FRHI has signed the Raffles Jeddah, which will feature 188 branded residences and 80 guestrooms. A second hotel in he city - Swissotel Jeddah- will feature 350 guest rooms, executive rooms, and suites. In the UAE, the group has signed a 276-key Swissotel Jaddaf in the AlJaddaf mixed-use development by Aabar Properties. Three hotels in the pipeline for Egypt include a 689-key Fairmont Citystars Sharm El Sheikh; the 400-key Swissotel Citystars Sharm El Sheikh; and a 300-key Raffles Citystars Sharm El Sheikh. In Nigeria, the group will open a 270-key Fairmont Lagos.

04.00pm: Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has revealed plans for a new hotel in Jeddah. The 230-room Mövenpick Hotel Heraa Jeddah will be the group’s third property in the city.

03.45pm: Gulf Hotels CEO Aqeel Raee has revealed that the Bahrain-based hospitality group has acquired land for the construction of a five-star, 230-room hotel in Business Bay, Dubai, that will open in 2017.

03.35pm: Tongues are wagging about various exciting facilities at the upcoming Starwood hotel complex on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai — comprising three hotels under the W, Westin and St. Regis brands and being developed by Dubai-based Habtoor. One of the highlights for music lovers is that Dubai is set to get its own branch of Jazz At Lincoln Centre, the New York jazz club already successful at St. Regis in Doha. The venue in Dubai is believed to overlook the theatre under development in the middle of the hotel complex. Hotelier was at the Doha club a matter of weeks ago and on a Monday night, the venue was full, so one can only imagine the popularity of such a concept in Dubai!

03:20pm: EXCLUSIVE: Hyatt is planning two mid-market hotels in Makkah - Hyatt Place and Hyatt House (extended stay brand) - both to open by 2016/2017. They are also looking at rolling out more Hyatt Place properties in the region.

Go to the next page to find out what happened earlier...

03:15pm: We've just found out that Hyatt will open its second Hyatt Regency-branded property in Dubai. Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek will be a two tower property - two towers, 600 keys in total. Due to open in nine months, it will be located in Healthcare City area - which is in close proximity to Grand Hyatt. The brand has also announced: Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel & Residences - 368 rooms; 60 serviced apartments; Hyatt Regency Makkah - 657 guestrooms - 26 suites, and will be located within Jabal Omar development; Hyatt Regency Riyadh - 260 rooms; 40 suites.

03.10pm: Muscat Royal Opera House is looking to work with more tour operators. Why not go and say hello since this is their first ever time at ATM? You can find Director General Christina on the stand, which is part of the Oman Ministry of Tourism Stand.

03.00pm: As we've already reported today, Ayla Bawadi Hotel is set to open next month. We've just met with general manager Mohamed Soussan, who's told HotelierMiddleEast.com about plans to open a five-star property - Grand Ayla Hotel - later this year.

02.45pm: It promises to be a big few months for Tilal Liwa Hotel in Abu Dhabi, which is planning an extension which will bring in a raft of new facilities. Crucially, as general manager Ayman Ashor explained to us, it should take the desert resort up from its current 4* status to 5*.

02:30pm: Dubai-based hotel management company Global Hotels Management has signed a franchise agreement with Wyndham Hotel Group to introduce the Ramada hotel brand to Ras Al Khaimah.

02.20pm: Africa expansion is big on every hotelier’s list at ATM and no less with Rotana who have just announced their first Africa hotel in Tanzania with a Chinese owning company. Guy Hutchinson, COO, MEA, Rotana has said that future Africa expansion will be very much organic management agreements since the company isn’t ready yet for franchising agreements. He added that finding the right partner is crucial in Africa in particular.

02:10pm: We're raking in the exclusives today! Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach will feature 10 F&B outlets - five of which will be run by the hotel and another to be leased out. In-house concepts include a cocktail bar and tea lounge; an international restaurant called Suq, beachfront restaurant called Seafu, and an open air rooftop nightlife concept called Mercury Lounge. The five other outlets will be well known international outlets that are already present in the UAE. He couldn't reveal names at this point.

02:00pm: EXCLUSIVE: Hotelier just had a chat with Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach general manager Simon Casson, who revealed the brand is targeting an October 2014 opening.

01.45pm: Swiss-Belhotel International chairman and president Gavin Faull says the company will soon be ready to announce a deal that will see it take over the management of six properties in the Middle East. He's also tied up a deal with an "international school/university" which will see it set up a college hotel. Exciting times for the company, which in July will open its first Bahrain property.

01:30pm: Hotelier Middle East editor Louise Oakley has just met with Emaar Hospitality Group COO Philippe Zuber, and been privy to a location map of the first Dubai Inn. Planned for the Zabeel area, opposite Al Murooj Rotana and The Address Dubai Mall, this 'value' hotel is scheduled for completion in 2015. There are four hotels agreed so far in a joint venture between Meraas Holding and Emaar Properties, but Zuber says he expects the brand to grow quickly to 15 or 20 properties.

01.15pm: Hotelier just caught up with Mark Edleson, president of Alila Hotels & Resorts, a company which will make its Middle East debut on Friday with Alila Jabal Akhdar in Oman. Mark is meeting with developers tonight to discuss the possibility of a property in Saudi Arabia and tomorrow he will meet another developer to talk about a future Dubai project! Plans for a second Oman hotel are also underway with a Salalah hotel to hopefully be announced within the next six months. We've asked Mark to keep us in the loop so watch this space for more news.

01:10pm: Tripadvisor has just released its latest research into the fastest growing inbound travel markets showing interest in holiday destinations in the UAE. The top five markets are UK, UAE, Russia, US and India, all researching UAE accommodation on Tripsdvisor. The fastest growing market is Canada, showing 38% year on year growth.

01:00pm: One to One hotels are at ATM for the first time every - why not go and say hello to CEO Philipoe Harb and his team at stand HC5370? Philiippe has news of the company's latest opening in Morrocco - One to One Tarfia Hotel which opened its doors on May 1. The company has also introduced its new Elite brand and is eyeing new hotels - 3 in Thailand and one in Morrocco to open in the next two years...

12:50pm: From DTCM roundtable with His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, we have found out that approximately 10,000 keys will come online around the expo site by 2020. In addition, the expo legacy plan includes museums, a university and commercial areas. "It will be a real example of what a world class smart city looks like" he said.

12:45pm: Dubai will never regulate hotel rates even if hotels double them, said His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri. "We are encouraging people to build hotels so demand and supply will regulate pricing." For ATM, part of DTCM's strategy is diversity in source markets. It is still focused on key markets of Europe, North America, India and GCC. But it is now planning to focus more on undeserved markets such as Africa, China, India and CIS, especially since India and China have double digit growth.

12.30pm: Accor has unveiled details of its new Majlis Grand Mercure brand, a five-star concept tailor-made for Middle East consumers but with the backing of an international chain. It is based on four key pillars of a sense of welcome, sense of food, sense of wellness and sense of culture and discovery. The first hotel has been signed in Saudi Arabia, the Majlis Grand Mercure Madinah, and Accor Middle East MD Christophe Landais revealed negotiations are underway in Doha for another. Arabic-themed brands are quite a talking point this ATM, with Manzil new from Emaar Hospitality Group, and Constella from Damac receiving official sharia-certification in Dubai.

12.05pm: There have been several announcements from Damac Hotels during ATM, with Hotelier editor set to meet Damac Properties MD Ziad El Chaar later today to find our more. The company, which already operates the Damac Maison luxury serviced apartments brand, unveiled Naia serviced apartments, which will all feature with a fully-fitted kitchen and maid services, with access to a restaurant, kids club and swimming pool. Naia By Damac will operayte 2200 hotel apartment units in Dubai by the end of 2014, with NAIA Downtown Jebel Ali set to begin operations this month.The company has also officially launched the first fully certified Sharia-Compliant serviced hotel apartments in Dubai, Constella, a luxury tower under construction in Jumeirah Village. All funds for the project will be managed by an Islamic Bank.

11.50am: Attention foodies! Yassat Gloria hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road is going to add three new F&B outlets, adding to their existing two. Urbano, a third party Italian restaurant brand, a Turkish outlet and ‘Outdoor’, a new restaurant with live cooking stations and a terrace are coming soon...

11:35am: Britta from Breidenbacher Hof is excited about the new Royal Floor at the hotel that is currently undergoing a refurbishment from its former apartment state. The 11 suites, all connectable, are expected to be completed by Aug 1.

11:00am: We have just caught up with Brand USA's Jay Gray who is planning to have full time representation in the Middle East by Q4! A move that has been influenced by the increased airlines from the Middle East.

10.30am: Rotana is just six weeks away from the opening of Boulevard Arjaan by Rotana, to open in Amman, Jordan on June 14 followed by a second Jordan opening in June 2015 which will take the company to an 800-room portfolio in the country. According to COO, Guy Hutchinson, the hotels are “being phased” to make sure they’re differentiated and the first opening will be very “corporate and Embassy driven”. Exciting stuff!

10.00am: The 11-year old Chedi Muscat is going to go through a refurb to cater to GCC families in particular. According to general manager Markus Iseli, the addition of around five pool villas, and some family suites will be just the ticket. Iseli commented that currently there are 158 keys in the hotel but the addition of family suites and villas will increase RevPAR.

09.45am: As we revealed in yesterday's live blog, Germany's Oetker Collection is looking at Dubai, Oman and Istanbul for potential opportunities. Here's more on that story.

09.30am: Hospitality Management Holdings has revealed its ambition to have a hotel in every GCC country by 2020, as well as doubling its portfolio in Dubai. The company must be confident on the back of its recent performance, with a 10% increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in hotels it operates in the first quarter of the year.

08.55am: The announcements keep coming in: Abu Dhabi's Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara has launched a 10-villa complex called the Royal Pavillion Villas by Qasr Al Sarab.

08.35am: Greg Allan, Rotana area vice president Abu Dhabi & Al Ain has recently added Dhofar in Oman to his remit and is overseeing the Salalah Rotana. Allan revealed to us that the hotel is to offer some quirky additions to the F&B offering with a destination dining concept seeing full dining tables being set up on the beach at a guest’s request! Honeymoon guests may also be treated to surprise breakfasts... watch this space.

08.30am: The team is getting ready for another busy day at the Dubai World Trade Centre. In case you missed it, make sure you check out our coverage of day one.