R Hotels will open the Wyndham Garden Inn in Q4 2017 in Ajman, with cluster general manager Iftikhar Hamdani pushing for a mid-October opening.
“We are pushing for a mid-October opening, we are working very hard to ensure this happens. Currently all the hotels are five-star on the beach, and this four-star deluxe will offer something new for those tourists looking for a product in the upper midscale space,” Hamdani told Hotelier at the ATM 2017 trade show.
He also explained the reasoning behind the selection of the Wyndham brand. “The reason we decided to add the Wyndham Garden Inn in Ajman, even though we already have 572 keys is because we are the market leader in terms of occupancy and profitability [in Ajman]. We are registering about 93% occupancy YTD, and in the last four years we have witnessed constant success with the Ramada Beach Ajman and Ramada Ajman as well.”
He added: “Business in Ajman has also witnessed a growth, we were a very traditional CIS market but we witnessed growth from the Baltics, Lithuania, Turkish and Balkans, along with constant growth from the Indian subcontinent.”
He informed that Wyndham Garden will operate in the upper midscale space, which will be the first Wyndham Garden Inn in the UAE. “I am very excited for the brand as well because I am big promoter of everything green.”
Regarding staffing, Hamdani said that the group look to add around 140-150 new staff. “Most of the staff will be promoted to a cluster role from the existing Ramada properties. From our 450 existing staff I will be taking maximum number of people to leadership roles.”
He added: “All rooms will be sea view, we are situated just across the beach and have a balcony. For this hotel we will add the Scandinavian market, which we never had before. I am signing a contract with a Scandinavian tour operator, securing about 25-30 rooms on a back to back basis. There is also a lot of demand from German tourists, at opening we will have 50 rooms booked back to back.”
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