Three years after scrapping plans for Venu Hotels, Jumeirah has revived the lifestyle concept. Hotelier catches up with newly appointed vice president operations & brand development Matt Balcik to learn about the strategy for its rollout
Jumeirah Group first launched its contemporary lifestyle brand Venu Hotels in 2010. However, by May of 2011, the group’s CEO Gerald Lawless confirmed to Hotelier that plans to develop the brand had been put on hold, despite a first hotel being signed in Shanghai with Shanghai Zendai Himalayas Real Estate Co. Ltd.
Three years on, and the group has revived the brand and appointed Turkish-American Matt Balcik as vice president operations and brand development to head up the evolution of Venu Hotels in the Middle East and beyond.
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Commenting on the strategy to reintroduce the concept, Balcik says: “I think at the time we wanted to focus on what we had already just to make sure we mastered that and we got that right.
“It’s also worth bearing in mind that from 2011 to 2012, the number of hotels under Jumeirah’s management doubled from 11 to 22. So this allowed the company to focus 100% on that core luxury brand, and those hotels are all up and running, and running profitably.
“That degree of confidence is back in the market and we feel that now is the right time to move forward with Venu. With all of the components — the world economy, what’s happening in Dubai, upcoming 2020, and our own growth plans — we feel 2014 is a much better plan than four years ago,” he adds.
The group has already signed the first Dubai property, in Meraas’ Bluewaters Island development, slated to open in two-and-a-half years. The hotel, which will be located near the Jumeirah Beach Residences, will feature between 250-300 rooms. And with plans now firmly back on track, Balcik has a very specific idea of what the Venu brand represents and the target market it hopes to attract.
“It’s a contemporary lifestyle brand that was designed for a millennial mindset. It’s a brand that was put together, not necessarily for the age-group, but the mindset; they are into that type of contemporary lifestyle. It offers design, it offers fashion, it offers music, it offers all of their passion points,” he enthuses.
With the F&B offering, all Venu properties will feature a minimum of two outlets — an all-day dining and a destination bar.
“It is a key part of the experience. Depending on the location and size of the property, the number of outlets will vary, but the minimum expectation will be a destination bar and all-day dining,” explains Balcik.
The question on every mind, however, is how Venu will distinguish itself from Jumeirah’s uber luxury identity.
“The product will be different, the design of the property will be different, the average rate, the cost will be different, the audience ... the way we operate the property, the target market, the look and feel of the properties will be a lot different from Jumeirah.
“So you think of Jumeirah as a luxury brand, versus Venu as contemporary lifestyle,” he explains.
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