The InterContinental Fujairah Resort is situated on the shoreline of Al Aqah Beach, against the backdrop of the Hajjar Mountains.
Nestled between the Hajjar mountains and the Indian Ocean is the newly opened InterContinental Fujairah Resort — the first InterContinental-branded resort in the Middle East. When the contract for the hotel was initially signed in 2007, the property was meant to be larger in terms of the number of rooms. However, that was tweaked over the years, and now the property comprises 190 keys.
The hotel’s team is headed up by 22-year IHG veteran, Philipp Economou, in his first pre-opening role. Having joined in April 2016, Economou was previously the general manager of the Holiday Inn Abu Dhabi, and has worked in the UAE, the US, France, Spain, Greece, Germany, and Switzerland.
During a site inspection led by Economou, Hotelier Middle East toured the spacious rooms, which start at 48m2. Twin rooms offer two queen beds, allowing a family of four to stay together in a single room, and every single room has an ocean view and a balcony. Each single suite is connected to a twin room, allowing them to be booked as a two-bedroom unit.
To emphasise the fact that this property is designed for leisure and relaxation, there are no desks in any of the rooms. All rooms do offer a Bose sound system, however, and also offer the ability for guests to display their own digital content on the TVs. To promote the balcony terrace as a spot for guests to hang out, the minibars have been created with an open design, and include the ingredients for various cocktails, and shakers.
The spa, by L’Occitane, has eight treatment rooms, including two treatment suites. Economou reveals that the property has the largest hammam in Fujairah, with capacity for up to eight treatments to take place at the same time. Each couple’s suite also has its own hammam, and all rooms offer a private terrace. The general manager adds that the InterContinental Fujairah has exclusivity with L’Occitane in Fujairah City in terms of products and treatments.
EASY SELL?
There are many selling points of the property that will make Economou’s sales and marketing team’s job easier, he asserts. But they certainly cannot rest on their laurels. Director of sales and marketing, Mohamed El Kot, joined the pre-opening team on 1 November, 2016, and implemented a three-pronged approach as soon as he came on-board.
First came the recruitment of the team, which was followed by a positioning workshop and meetings with key stakeholders. Finally, he built the entire sales and marketing strategy and plan. El Kot explains: “We are a luxury property and, as the InterContinental brand, we target a diversified market segmentation.”
In addition to targeting local residents and tourists, El Kot is keen to attract the MICE segment, where he says people are looking to get away from traditional markets in the UAE, such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
He expects the top source markets to include Emiratis and locally based expats on the hunt for a staycation. Following that are three key markets: Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the UK, and Germany.
But El Kot doesn’t plan to stop there: “We are looking at new markets that did not come to Fujairah before.” This includes Scandinavia and other European countries, he says.
For a property that Economou says will attract a customer base of 90% leisure travellers, El Kot thinks there’s still some potential to accommodate the MICE segment. While the hotel has meeting facilities, it’s more about the rest of the experiences the property can offer MICE groups, however.
He says: “We want to take it away from the traditional idea of people sitting in a meeting room and having meetings. We want to take it outside, perhaps for team-building activities.”
Over the last five years, El Kot says the sales and marketing scene has changed, and that teams have had to adapt.
“Sales and marketing people are more tech-savvy, so the traditional way of selling the hotel has changed. It’s more of a digital platform,” he explains.
“We use RFP systems, event platforms where people book events without even coming and to see the hotel. That’s why digital is really important,” he continues.
“The sales team became more of a business partner; they are accountable —responsible for bringing the revenue in. They’re not just people who go and meet clients and bring in business; [they’re] more into budgeting, cost involvement, the performance of the entire hotel.”
Economou is confident about his prospects when it comes to filling the rooms. In addition to his sales and marketing talent, IHG’s loyalty programme is another important element in the strategy.
Economou says: “The first bookings are coming through IHG, as the sales channel within the IHG loyalty programme is very strong. We are also starting to build up a relationship with international travellers, and wholesalers.”
Before going live in November 2017, however, Economou says there were many milestones in the opening process. The first, he explains, was when the hotel was closed to turn on the ventilation, to prepare the shell-and-core for fit-out. The second was on-boarding the team, while the third, he says, was when the hotel first fired up its kitchen — which is when he says that he realised the hotel was close to opening.
| Advertisement |
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
