“This recognition is a great cause for celebration especially since it follows two key hotel openings in Dubai (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi (Al Maryah Island). Our employees are Four Seasons’ greatest assets and we are proud that our company culture is resonating with hospitality professionals in the region.”
Marriott has inched back up the list after coming in third last year, with 38.3% saying they would like to work for this behemoth. Jumeirah Group is back down to third spot with 31.6% interested in working for the home-grown hotel company.
LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE
The good news is that the forecast in terms of regional hotel performance for the long-term is positive. STR’s Rossmann said Dubai and Jeddah, for example, are showing margins of over 40%. “There will be some headwinds, but there are still very high profit margins.”
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While he admitted 2015 was tough and 2016 had a tough start, he pointed out that in the region, demand grew in 2015 and is still growing in 2016. “The reason is that more people are staying here and spending nights in hotels. The challenge, and the reason why performance has been struggling, is because supply has been growing much faster than demand — much higher than anywhere else in the world.”
He continued: “That’s short-term but we need to look at longer term for investment. The Middle East has had about flat RevPAR over 2010-2015, which is quite far behind other regions which has seen 30-40% growth in RevPAR. That might seem discouraging but it’s not a fair comparison because over that period the Middle East has seen supply growth of more than 40% — most markets haven’t seen anywhere more than 5-10% supply growth. Any time you have that much supply growth, you are going to have challenges. The really good news is that over that period, demand has increased across the Middle East by a staggering 51%.”
He revealed that the market managed to hold RevPAR across that period, and grew at more than 42% in total revenue terms. “In the majority, we expect more markets to have a good 2016. Dubai is one that looks like it will have a struggling year.”
He told Hotelier: “The question is: can history repeat itself? Can the Middle East do in the next five to six years what it did in the previous five to six years, which is absorb a huge increase in supply and maintain its levels of profitability? It’s probably going to be just as tough, if not tougher than last time. But if you look at the fundamentals: world tourism is growing and inter-regional tourism is growing. And there are more and more reasons for people to visit the area — in terms of visitor attractions, and the strength and growth of the airlines bringing people to the region.”
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