48. Daousser Chennoufi, Concept Creator and Partner, Hues Hotels & Resorts (New entry)
Hues Hotels & Resorts targets ‘new’ hotel concepts to go with its existing ones.
Hues Hotels & Resorts has continued to expand its operational footprint in the UAE. The hospitality management company is currently operating Hues Boutique Hotel in Dubai and the Sharjah-based 72 by Hues. It intends to open a further two properties in the near future, including a second hotel in Sharjah and Hues Fujairah Resort.
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“As a boutique hotel brand in the Middle East, Hues Hotels & Resorts offers a different perspective on luxury for the modern traveller,” says Daousser Chennoufi, concept creator and partner for Hues Hotels & Resorts, and chairman and key architect for Draw Link Group.
The last 12 months have also seen Hues expand its business into Belarus; along with the opening its initial property in Minsk.
The firm, which is jointly owned by Bin Suloom Group, architecture and design firm Draw Link and Tierramar Management Consultancy, has constantly put boutique hotel design at the forefront of its offering.
“Cutting edge interior design is an integral part of the Hues Hotels & Resorts success,” says Chennoufi. “We started the brand from scratch with Hues Boutique Hotel, and after three successful years of operation have managed not only to open the second hotel, but to get several industry awards,” he adds.
The operator’s hotel concepts have gathered accolades, including a 2014 Trip Advisor Traveller’s Choice Award for the Hues Boutique Hotel, while the 72 by Hues won Best five-Star Hotel at the Sharjah Tourism Excellence Awards.
Chennoufi, the creative driving force behind the Draw Link Group and the look and feel of the Hues Hotels has extensive architectural and interior design experience. The Draw Link Group is an architectural, interior design and fit out firm, which specialises primarily in hospitality projects.
Hues Hotels follows a design orientated approach, which has helped establish the firm’s boutique hotel credentials. It also gives the group a unique selling point in the cut-throat hospitality market. “Hues Hotels & Resorts offers a different perspective on luxury for the modern traveller,” claims Chennoufi.
During 2014, Hues Hotels & Resorts revamped its food and beverage offering in the Hues Boutique Hotel, increasing revenue and introducing some unique design concepts to the local market.
Chennoufi is constantly on the look out for new ideas and hotel business best practices that can be embraced by the fledgling hotel chain. Consequently, Hues has started integrating sustainable business practises throughout its operations.
“I try to keep up with the latest innovations appearing within the industry, and apply them to the hotels we have, starting from the eco-friendly, contemporary and practical materials we use and ending up with the outlets, that have been developed with their own identity, adding value for guests looking for a new kind of lifestyle hospitality concept,” explains Chennoufi.
The hospitality management firm further plans to develop different hotel concepts from two-to five-stars, orientated at ‘back-pack’ travellers, “who still would love to visit the UAE and have a great hotel stay, with all the luxury facilities, but cannot afford it”, says Chennoufi.
“Therefore, we would love to bring to the UAE smart luxury hotels of mid-scale range that would allow all kinds of tourists to visit one of the world’s leading tourists countries,” he adds.
By the numbers
Number of years in the role: 4
Number of years with the company: 4
Number of operating hotels in the Middle East: 2
Number of pipeline hotels in the Middle East: 2
Top inspiration
Hotelier, entrepreneur and real estate developer, Ian Schrager has always impressed Chennoufi. From creating Studio 54 and Palladium in the 1970s (while making a fortune and going to jail) to the starting and building the Morgans Hotel Group, that essentially defined the boutique hotel concept, Schrager helped define the ways we “live our lives”
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