“We try not to be arrogant about our business. We understand our strengths worldwide. We understand that we’ve mastered a level of service which is fairly unmatched in our industry. What we had to realise for the hotel was that we don’t know the business inside-out with our background. So it was important to find a partner who is grounded in the hotel world; who has managed to provide impeccable service.
“That’s why having a JV with MGM is so critical to us. It really did bring a skill set to our group that wasn’t
there, and it accelerated the process. Had we wanted to build our own hotel division, it would have taken a number of years to recruit the right people, to establish guidelines, whereas MGM can come in and get us to the races fairly quickly.”
Beyond the Dubai hotel, no firm plans are in place for any further hotels, although McCabe identifies gateway cities such as London, Paris and Los Angeles for future developments. However, these are likely to be very different types of properties.
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“The Dubai hotel will very much be a resort brand: it’s on the beach, it’s waterfront, so that will inform the design,” he says.
“The city-centric Hakkasan hotel, which will come through, whether the first one will be in London or New York, will have a very different feel; more urban-focused and a very different type of layout.
“So I think fairly soon after we get started in Dubai, our goal will be to secure a pretty major city site and develop a city-centric hotel.”
In the meantime, all eyes are on the west crescent of Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, as hospitality observers wait to see what Hakkasan comes up with; something McCabe is well aware of.
“We’re very focused and understand this first hotel in Dubai will really make our brand in the context of becoming a large hotel company.”
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