Dubai's hospitality sector has the largest pipeline of additional room supply in the world, with 64,000 rooms forecast to be added to the current stock of less than 100,000 rooms by 2020. Will that lead to a crash in prices or can the market absorb this supply?
According to figures from hotel data company STR, Dubai currently has the largest hotel room pipeline of any city in the world, standing at over 50,000 rooms on an existing room count of less than 100,000. What's more, it is concentrated at the top end of the market, with around 14,000 upper-upscale rooms (a 60 percent increase), around 13,000 upscale rooms (a 56 percent increase), and over 8,000 upper-midscale rooms (a whopping 99 percent increase) planned.
The Bulgarian national George Ganchev is taking a new challenge by integrating the first property of Blazon Hotels brand in Ajman. Carrying with him more than 26 years of experience in the hospitality industry, George Ganchev holds a MBA degree in Hotel Management from NEOMA Business School, Paris. George Ganchev joined Kempinski in 1997 as Front Office Manager in Bulgaria. Ever since then, he has been developing his skills in six different countries, such as the United Arab Emirates with the pre-opening of the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski in Tanzania, Kempinski Hotel Amman in the capital of Jordan, then Egypt with the luxury resort Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay in Red Sea, followed by Saudi Arabia where he led the Burj Rafal Kempinski Hotel Riyadh. In 2015, George Ganchev took the leadership of the Grand Hotel Kempinski Riga – preopening the first five star hotel in Latvia - before joining in December 2017 the Blazon Hotels brand during the rebranding of Ajman Hotel. George Ganchev is now leading the team at Ajman Hotel through an exciting schedule of enhancements, including the recent rebranding of one of the local guests" favorite spot renamed Blazon Lounge and the all-day-dining restaurant Café Naseem providing outdoor terrace with sea-view.
Al Mordaa has more than 14 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Having worked at InterContinental Abu Dhabi since 2008 as a guest service supervisor, he brings expertise and proficiency in guest experience within the hotel. Before joining InterContinental Abu Dhabi since nearly 10 years, he has held other guest experience positions at both Starwood and Four Seasons hotels. Al Mordaa will undertake responsibility of the rooms division through a team of 216 members including recreation, marina, housekeeping, front office and health & safety departments. During his time at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Al Mordaa received the highly coveted "Manager of the Year" award for his outstanding work during 2015-2016.
Rotana Hotel Management Corporation has appointed Karim Nahas to the role of general manager at the soon-to-open Pearl Rotana Abu Dhabi. The new hotel is set to open in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of March 2018.
Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island, the sophisticated waterfront property located on Abu Dhabi"s upscale business and lifestyle destination, welcomes Olivier Thomas as General Manager.
Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort has appointed Shafeek Mohammed as the property's new executive housekeeper.
Towers Rotana Dubai has appointed Turkish national Cihan Kucukcavdar as the new executive chef.
Hospitality Management Holding (HMH) has appointed Shahzad Butt as the new general manager at Coral Dubai Al Barsha Hotel.
Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort has appointed Shafeek Mohammed as the property's new executive housekeeper.
Dhabi Contracting recently announced plans to build a seven-star hotel in Ruwais, which is in the wester region of Abu Dhabi.
ME Dubai, which is located within the Opus by Zaha Hadid, has appointed Haytham El-Sherbini as the new director of sales and marketing. El-Sherbini, who graduated with a bachelor"s degree in business administration from the University of New Brunswick—Canada in Cairo, Egypt, brings more than 11 years of industry experience to his new job. El-Sherbini has worked in a number of hotel chains including Dusit International, Intercontinental Hotel Group, and Emaar Hospitality Group for eight years as director of sales protocol for The Address Hotels + Resorts. Most recently, he worked as the director of sales for Armani Hotel Dubai. ME Dubai, inside the 93-metre high Opus, is located in the Burj Khalifa district in Downtown Dubai and will consist 93 rooms and suites, 96 residential apartments and 15 F&B outlets, including contemporary Japanese restaurant, ROKA. The ME Dubai is set to launch in Q4 of 2018.
Yordanova brings more than four years of experience in the hospitality industry. She previously worked at the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah (now Five Palm Jumeirah) in the UAE, but began her career at Grand Hyatt Berlin and continued to work with the Hyatt brand in Dubai. She holds a Bachelor of Business Economics degree from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia, Bulgaria, and a Master"s degree in Corporate Communications for the Universita Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy.
M Hotel Downtown by Millennium has announced Cornelia Erhardt as the hotel"s new General Manager. Prior to her appointment, Erhardt held the same role at the five-star Nassima Royal Hotel in Dubai which was previously known as Radisson Royal Hotel.
Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding, today announced the launch of Zabeel House by JumeirahTM. This exciting second brand from Jumeirah Group, which already operates the award winning luxury Stay DifferentTM brand, has been created in response to the continuing and growing travel trend for exploration and enrichment through travel experiences. Zabeel House by JumeirahTM will have a strong appeal for this increasing segment of travellers, from across a broad demographic, who want to connect meaningfully with their travel destinations.
Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham JBR has appointed Nader Namah as its new food and beverage manager.
Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi has appointed Martin Cramer as its new general manager on January 16, 2018. To his new job, Cramer brings over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry.
Hotels in the Middle East reported negative 2017 performance results, while hotels in Africa posted growth across the three key performance metrics, according to data from STR.U.S. dollar constant currency, 2017 vs. 2016Middle East
International tourism in the Middle East and North Africa showed clear signs of recovery in 2017 with growths of 5% and 13%, respectively. Against this backdrop, tourism ministers, Spanish authorities and private sector gathered to discuss future tourism prospects at the Ministerial Round Table on Tourism Development in the MENA Region, during the Madrid International Tourism Fair in Spain (18 January, FITUR Madrid).
Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa by Anantara has promoted Daniella Swanepoel to the role of director of spa.