HMH to open 15 hotels in 2011

Dubai-based hotel management and development company Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH) will open 15 hotels this year across the Middle East, taking the number of hotels under management to 50, said a press statement.

Michel Noblet, President and CEO of HMH, said: “Despite all the hiccups – first the global economic recession and now the Middle East political crisis – we will have 50 hotels operational before the end of the year and several of these will be unveiled during the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in May. We are extremely pleased to reach this milestone as until now most of the hotels were only on the drawing board but today they stand ready to welcome their first guests.”

The opening of 15 new hotels before the end of the year will add approximately 2,400 rooms to the HMH’s portfolio which is nearly 40 per cent more than the group’s existing supply. Since its formation in 2003, HMH has developed several successful new brands under its banner including Coral Hotels & Resorts, Corp Executive Hotel Apartments, EWA Hotel Apartments and ECOS Hotels. However, Coral Hotels & Resorts continues to lead the group’s growth in the region and out of the 10 projects lined up for announcement during ATM, seven belong to the Coral brand. Another strong contributor to the HMH portfolio is Corp Executive Hotels that has given the group significant lead in the GCC with 3 hotels operational and three under development.

Speaking on the significance of ATM Michel said, “Arabian Travel Market is the perfect platform to showcase our hotels to the global travel and tourism industry. It also presents us the ideal opportunity to discover new trends as well as exchange latest know-how and ideas with other hospitality experts to tackle challenges faced by our industry today.”

Michel said, “The upcoming hotels in our portfolio will give us stronger presence in key business and leisure destinations in the Middle East particularly the UAE, KSA, Jordan, Syria, Qatar and Oman.”

Michel remains upbeat about the market conditions. “We continue to see exciting development opportunities and believe the time is right for consolidation, growth and expansion. We have confidence that the economy and hotel sector is on a strong rebound track. I am glad to see the diversification we have now in terms of hotel categories. Before we only saw the deluxe 5 star segment in the market. Today we have a mid-market and budget segment coming, so it makes the destinations more appealing and affordable.

“The Middle East has an incredible ability to bounce back. Travellers have an enduring love affair with countries such as Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and we hope things will get back to normal soon in order for business to continue as usual,” Noblet added.

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