The upmarket Pullman Hotels & Resorts brand was yesterday launched in Dubai in defiance of the global economic crisis.
The new international chain is being developed by French hospitality giant Accor, and two properties will be opened in Dubai in partnership with the UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Properties. Other openings will follow elsewhere in the Middle East.
"This is a tough year for everyone but it will not last forever," said Dr Najeeb Al Khaja, Senior Vice-President for Hospitality at MAF Properties. "There have been many crises before. You have to plan for tomorrow when the economy will bounce back and this is what we are doing. MAF is a long-term investor, we don't plan for the short term," he added.
Christophe Landais, Managing Director, Accor Hospitality Middle East, said: "Of all the places in the region, Dubai is the natural starting place to launch Pullman, which is an entry-level upscale brand. The Pullman brand is specially targeted at business travellers and Mice [meetings, incentives, conferences and events] tourism. Both the properties will be mixed-use developments with retail playing a major role in bringing in the numbers."
Al Khaja added: "Our core business is shopping malls but hotels are also becoming important. The business's two long-standing hotels – the Deira City Centre Hotel and Kempinski at the Mall of the Emirates – have achieved an occupancy rate of more than 85 per cent."
The first Dubai Pullman, at the Mall of the Emirates extension, will have 481 rooms, of which 94 suites will be completed by the second half of 2010. The second Pullman will occupy the building that currently houses Deira City Centre Hotel and will open after a two-year refurbishment.
There will be a network of 50 Pullman hotels across the world by the end of 2009, said Landais. Last year MAF Properties opened two Accor-operated hotels, the Ibis and Novotel, in Deira.
Jonathan Emery, Senior Vice-President of MAF Properties, said: "By 2010 MAF will have 3,000 hotel rooms with 10 hotels, up from 1,300 rooms in four hotels."
MAF Properties also plans to open Accor-operated hotels in Sohar and Muttrah in Oman. Emery said 13 other projects are in various stages of design and planning.
By the end of 2011 Accor will have 46 hotels with 11,593 rooms in nine Middle East countries. Currently, the company has 27 with 6,540 rooms in seven countries, and 19 properties with 5,053 rooms are under development in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Landais said none of the hotel projects under construction were on hold but those at the planning stage were likely to be delayed. The Mid-market Ibis hotels are due to open in Jordan, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain this year.
More hotels From MAF
MAF Properties, the company that brought in a new kind of retail experience to the Mena region, is planning more hotels in the Middle East, said a senior executive of the company.
Jonathan Emery, Senior Vice President, MAF Properties, said: "MAF is planning to develop hotels in Oman, Syria and Lebanon. The company plans to roll out more hotels in the region. Some of them would be mixed-used developments while the others are standalone hotels. Currently there are eight projects in the design stage and five under construction."
In 2010 the company plans to launch two hotels – the Kempinski in Bahrain and the Ibis in Dubai.
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