One of the world’s most famous golfers has teamed up with an experienced Dubai hotelier to set up a family hotel operator. Hotelier Middle East speaks to Ernie Els and Michael Scully about how they are looking to embrace a niche with First & Foremost Family Hotels.
Having a holiday with your family is still the best thing. It is such a special thing. I remember when I was 15 and had a good holiday. That sticks in your memory forever. So I know there’s a special bond you can have as a family, when you have a proper holiday, and you can have a proper resort or hotel for that. So that’s what we want to try and do.” – Ernie Els, co-founder, First & Foremost Family Hotels.
What links a four-time major championship-winning golf player, the former general manager of Westin and Le Méridien Mina Seyahi, and an Austrian hotel operator?
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As guests invited to The Els Club Dubai recently discovered, the answer is a new hospitality venture: an operator which is looking to open hotels aimed at families — and particularly those with children aged 0-5 — first in the Middle East, then around the world.
First & Foremost Family Hotels is the brainchild of Michael Scully, a familiar name in the region’s hospitality scene, having headed up operations at the Mina Seyahi properties, and having been managing director hospitality at Seven Tides.
His latest venture is perhaps his most ambitious to date, and one that may mark a step-change in the hospitality landscape. Joining him in the venture are South African golfer Ernie Els and Leading Family Hotels & Resorts, which already operates family properties in Austria and Italy.
Speaking at the launch, Scully explained how, in the era of Airbnb and other peer-to-peer services, hotel operators needed to find a niche in order to stay competitive. He further argued that, by concentrating on the 0-5 age range, the hotels would not be at the mercy of school holidays, and would be able to maintain high levels of occupancy throughout the year.
“Your niche market is your key market,” he told Hotelier Middle East. “There are too many properties of the same ilk, offering the same product. Ultimately what we are always looking at is return on investment for our owners.
“We would be one of the safest bets for owners looking at investing in our types of properties, because we’re not at the risk of the likes of P2P buying, extra rooms coming up and the number of hotels coming online that are similar in kind of service.”
Readers of Hotelier Middle East may recognise the First & Foremost name and Scully’s idea of developing a family hotel, as he has been working on the concept now for at least the last two years.
It was never the plan to get a celebrity name on board, but rather the result of having a mutual riend. Nevertheless, he is already reaping the benefits of what he openly describes as “luck”.
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