Hospitality groups across the region are turning to familiar brands to draw in diners — but top professionals remain divided on whether own-brand chains or independent names are a better investment.
The Rezidor Hotel Group currently boasts four own-brand concepts: the Italian Filini Bar and Restaurant; French brasserie Verres en Vers; the Irish concept Sure Bar; and contemporary eatery RBG (Red Bar and Grill), which made its Middle East debut at Park Inn Muscat last year.
The group’s senior vice president and chief operating officer Jaques Dubois explained: “Especially in Europe, the restaurant and bar business at hotels has always been a challenge, and in most cases loss-making. Our own F&B concepts provide the hotels with very attractive tools to improve this situation.
“They are in line with the contemporary design of our hotels and strengthen the brand identity and awareness, and they can be implemented at an affordable rate.”
Meanwhile Rotana’s Centro properties — the second of which launched recently in Dubai — will all feature the brand’s three trademark F&B outlets: bar, buffet and deli.
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Corporate vice president of F&B Helmut Arthold commented: “You know exactly what you’re getting — the same service, the same value, the same quality.
“That means it feels familiar, so guests feels comfortable, and the business traveller away from home appreciates this.”
However InterContinental Hotels Group vice president operations for Gulf Pascal Gauvin said while he appreciated the attraction of familiar brands, he did not believe devising in-house F&B concepts was the answer.
“At IHG, we have associations — for example in Dubai we have the Belgian Beer Café, and there are other places in the Middle East where it might work for us to replicate that experience. We have one open in Abu Dhabi now and we are talking about Doha, so there is a pattern there,” he said.
“But at the same time, we don’t want to do a ‘house brand’, because we want every customer to have a different and unique experience in each of our hotels.”
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