Hilton Worldwide believes highly in Dubai’s mid-market potential; earlier this year, the US-based hotelier signed an agreement with Wasl Hospitality and Leisure to open two additional mid-market properties in Dubai under its Hampton by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brands.
And at the time of going to press, a new 104-room Hilton Garden Inn Tabuk in Saudi Arabia was announced, showcasing the region’s potential for this sector.
A quick look at the data collated by Tophotelprojects revealed a total of 144 hotel projects are either in pre-construction or building phase in the Middle East. The number accounts for only the top 10 hotel brands worldwide. A glance at the brands reveals Hilton Garden Inn, Park Inn by Radisson, Hampton by Hilton and Holiday Inn make up the majority of the numbers, all of which are mid-market brands.
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Interestingly, the talk of mid-market is only limited to three-star properties at the moment. At the Hotel Show, Hotelier quizzed several operators and independent owners to gauge their sentiment of one- and two-star offerings. They unanimously agreed that the time is not right at the moment.
However, a few mid-scale operators said that the boutique sector will emerge as a cherry on top of the mid-market cake. Instead of giving the aging, and in some cases crumbling, B&B offerings the bulldozer treatment, Philippe Harb, chief executive officer, One to One Hotels said they can be given the boutique hotel treatment: “Brands need to be young and vibrant; defining factors need to be in place to differentiate a boutique hotel from a mid-market hotel.”
“Some of the hotels in the historic areas of Bur Dubai and Deira have the potential to be refurbished and rebranded into boutique hotels. That way they save on the cost of buying land and building a new structure,” he added.
The conclusion seems to be that one- to three-star hotels will not kill the five-star and upper-upscale hotels. They will merely offer an alternative to travellers.
Spending lesser on accommodation will have a brilliant knock-on effect on the retail sector, as tourists will be left with surplus cash to spend on the city’s attractions rather than spending it all on hotel rooms.
Such is the importance and opportunity within the tourism sector that The Arabian Travel Market 2016 has chosen ‘mid-market travel’ as the official show theme, highlighting the potential impact this sector is likely to have in the future.
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