Emaar Hospitality CEO says Rove seeing GCC-wide interest

Emaar Hospitality Group chief executive officer Olivier Harnisch has said to Hotelier Middle East that there has been "tremendous interest for Rove across the GCC".

He added: "Rove has had such an impact. It’s still amazing to think that the history of the brand is less than a year. Four will be on the market very soon, and then another six will open in Dubai. It’s just amazing."

At a press conference during Arabian Travel Market, he also said that the operator is "aggressively pushing ahead" with its Rove openings in Dubai. 

He added: "I’m very optimistic about the mid-market sector because if you look at Dubai compared to other markets, there is a strong supply of upscale and luxury hotels in relation to the mid-market, so I think we’ll see a lot of activity in the mid-market sector, and there’s no reason to doubt that growth rates will continue in the long-term."

"The mid-market guest is not necessarily the guest who has less income to spend, but it’s a guest who has decided to spend a small proportion of the travel budget on hotels for whatever reason," Harnisch added.