Dubai based Hospitality Management Holdings today announced the launch of its budget brand Ecos, with two management deals to be signed for Dubai hotels in the next few weeks for openings estimated for 2016.
The first location is to be Dubailand according to CEO, Hospitality Management Holdings Laurent A.Voivenel, however he says that this is not confirmed as of yet.
In an exclusive interview with Hotelier, he said: “We are going to sign two management contracts in the next few months for hotels in Dubai. Ecos hotel is not a brand that’s been created for the UAE for 2020, it’s a budget hotel that’s been created because we have anticipated the needs of the future customer.”
One of the Ecos hotels will be owned by a company HMH has worked with before and the other property will have a new owner. According to Voivenel the project has been “a real hot cake” with many investors having approached the company to discuss ownership of Ecos properties.
“We’re the only hotel that can promise a double digit return on investment within two years,” said Voivenel. “Because the investment per room is quite low and ROI is very high and number two, it’s very low cost in terms of payroll so GOP is high. Knowing the problem of recruitment that all of the UAE will face with the new hotels coming up, we’ve got the answer – we’ll only have 50 people employed to run 200-250 rooms.
Ecos hotels are going to be mainly bed and breakfast with some of what Voivenal says he likes to call “Eco plus” hotels offering F&B as per the owner’s requirements. It’s the aim of HMH to make the Ecos brand the most budget brand in Dubai, and Voivenel said that it will be “way cheaper than Ibis.”
“There will be no facilities whatsoever,” added Voivenel. “We want to be the most budget hotel in Dubai but managed with international standards. In Dubai 24% of hotels in the UAE are budget hotels but of this the vast majority are unbranded.”
Two Ecos projects in Dubailand and Fujairah were previously announced in 2010 when HMH was under the leadership of CEO Michel Noblet. The three projects were put on hold and Noblet refused to comment on the reason for this.
HMH currently has five brands: Coral Hotels & Resorts, Corp Hotels, Ecos Hotels, and Ewa Hotels as well as The Ajman Palace. The entire Coral brand has just undergone an overhall to update services and standards to become more interactive with customers and to have a younger, fresher feel.
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