“I felt from the beginning that Ajman as a market lacked a luxury concept. If you visit the competitors here, you’ll find very generic all-day dining or very generic bars; there’s nothing outstanding. So I focused on providing a luxury concept and fun service as well, because formal service is beginning to disappear from our industry. So it will be friendly service with a really high quality of food and beverage and a nice ambience,” he explains.
In addition to in-house guests, the hotel’s restaurants will depend heavily on walk-in clientele as well, Saeid says, and menus have been adapted to suit local tastes.
“We had to ensure the menu has enough variety to suit all the guests and visitors in Ajman. So we have focused on authentic, local products and there is also some Indian, Asian and European food to suit everyone,” Saied explains.
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SALES STRATEGY
When Hotelier visited Fairmont Ajman a month after its opening, and only days before the beginning of Ramadan, the hotel reported occupancy figures in the mid-40% range, according to Schaeffer.
Recent economic troubles in Europe, and particularly in Russia, have caused the sales and marketing team to reassess its strategy.
Director of sales and marketing Karina Davies explains: “2015 was more of an experiment because we didn’t really know what to expect during the opening in terms of occupancy and planning, with the Russian market and euro being down.”
The hotel will predominantly cater to the leisure sector, but with extensive meeting spaces, groups will also be a key target for the team.
“It’s important for us to maintain that balance between wholesale and corporate; we have an incredible meeting space… so the property can suit many different segments. For the on-property sales team, we focus on corporate and group meetings, and the cluster team [in Dubai] works with the wholesale business,” she explains.
Cross-selling with other Fairmont properties in the country has also proven to work very well, Davies reveals. “A lot of our clients are doing split programmes. Our sister property in Dubai has the same owner, so the idea is to do a city/resort offer; we’ve already started that. Ajman, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi are three different destinations, so that’s a very easy sell as well.”
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