Asked how the Four Seasons Hotel Makkah will translate luxury for religious pilgrims visiting the area, Casson points out that there is a lot of back study being done to taylor the experience for guests.
“I think we have a lot to study, research and learn about it. We’ve already started a small task force within my office in Dubai to look at what would we need to do differently, or learn more to make sure this hotel is not only fit for [the religious] purpose but be able to lead within that space too,” Casson notes.
MARKET PERFORMANCE
With Saudi Arabia making strong turns to diversify its economy and move away from oil, special attention is being given to the Holy cities of Makkah and Madinah to develop them. The rising investment in the region is also being bolstered by Saudi’s Vision 2030 which hopes to attract upwards of 3.75 million Hajj pilgrims by 2020 and 6.7 million by 2030.
This gaping opportunity has turned up the dial for major operators who are funnelling in massive amounts of hotel supply to tap into Saudi’s market potential. However, STR reports that this over supply has put downward pressure on the revenue per available room (RevPAR) which registered a decline of 20% in Makkah compared to its 2017 performance.
Despite the concerns about oversupply, Casson, however, has faith in Four Seasons’ brand value.
“There’s are a lot of hotels there already, but there’s nothing really at the Four Seasons’ level of excellence. For sure, a lot of the guests that are going to Mecca are Four Seasons’ guest elsewhere in the world. We’ll be looking forward to providing something different, but also very sensitively fit for purpose there,” Casson explains.
He takes a similar positive stance about the oversupply concern most hoteliers in Dubai might face in the lead up to the Expo 2020.
“I tend to look at it another way round. A beach resort in Dubai is 230 rooms. That’s all we need to fill. For sure, every night of the year in Dubai, over 230 people who were at the luxury end. Our job is to make ourselves so attractive that they just don’t stay anywhere else. There will always be 230 luxury travellers. There will actually be thousands. But we have to make sure we’re taking disproportionate share. You do that through building a reputation, a reputation based on service,” Casson asserts.
WHAT’S NEXT
When questioned what’s next in store, Casson reveals that a residential development in Marrakesh, a venue aligned with the hotel in Morrocco, is slated to open in 2020. Casson, however, says he turns to Four Seasons’ loyal guest base for inspiration, too.
“Our guests tell us. They say, ‘Hey, why don’t you have a hotel there? I’ve been to this destination or I would go to this destination if there was a Four Seasons there.’ Then we talk to partners and see what is the commercial and economic case to do so. But I would say, for Four Seasons, when we look globally, Middle East is a vital part of our future development,” Casson affirms.
“We’re in five out of the six GCC countries so don’t be surprised that we would like to be in the sixth, which is Oman as well,” he hints.
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