Recent success has been seen already with the signing of the Bulgari Hotel, to be located just opposite the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach on Jumeirah Bay Island, a six million ft2 mixed-use development, sculpted in the shape of a titanic seahorse off the coast of Jumeirah Beach Road.
Kyriakidis says it will be “one of the most special hotels in the world, not just in the Middle East & Africa”.
Additionally, the Autograph Collection, Marriott’s independent luxury hotels collection will make its regional debut. Located on Jumeirah Beach and adjacent to Dubai Marina, the 446-room Habtoor Grand Beach Resort & Spa will join the collection early this year.
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The second Autograph Collection — The 503-key Lapita Hotel, a Polynesian-themed family property — will open in 2016 as part of a major theme park project in Dubai.
Kyriakidis is confident that with the ongoing development of such attractions, as well as the growing span of Emirates and other airlines, Dubai will continue to prosper despite burgeoning supply.
“Everyone is very concerned about the rate at which 20,000 rooms are coming on to the market for 2020 and I think we saw that last year, with RevPAR plateauing in Dubai. But it’s merely because you’ve got a really strong market growing.
You now have several thousand rooms and there has to be a period of gestation before it can grow again,” he comments.
Marriott sees neighbouring destination Abu Dhabi as another land of opportunity — albeit with a different market position to Dubai continuing to evolve. The Courtyard by Marriott World Trade Center, a 195-room hotel set to open this month, will leverage its proximity to Arabtec and ADNOC to attract corporate business.
“Abu Dhabi is going into a slightly different but complementary positioning to Dubai. The focus is still heavily on business. Dubai, interestingly, today is tipping away, it’s now more than 50% leisure whereas in the capital it’s 75% business, 25% leisure,” says Kyriakidis, explaining that this fits perfectly with Marriott’s DNA, which is “really business”.
“I can go to a beach location in Dubai but it will cost on average twice what it will cost in the capital. So it’s an opportunity to experience the capital, family business and Saadiyat Island but not be too far from Dubai. I would fully expect the capital to exploit this, as will we, and as will other hoteliers to drive business and drive demand. It ultimately makes the cake bigger for the whole of the UAE”, he adds.
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