 |
| Add caption |
Wyndham Hotel Group, the world's largest hotel company with about 7,380 hotels, has revealed plans for its first property in the UAE. The announcement follows the signing of an agreement with Sigma III Limited, a subsidiary of British-owned developer The First Group, to manage a 33-story building in Dubai Marina.
Currently under development, the Wyndham Dubai Marina is expected to open within the next three years with 497 guest rooms including 251 luxurious suites. The hotel will also comprise nearly 6,800 square feet of food and beverage outlets, including all-day-dining and specialty restaurants, as well as a coffee shop, an executive lounge and a bar. Alongside meetings and conference space, the hotel will also offer almost 2,500 square feet of spa and leisure facilities including a gym and outdoor pool with a pool bar. "We're very excited to be bringing our namesake Wyndham Hotels and Resorts brand to Dubai, following its successful introduction to the region through the spectacular Wyndham Grand Regency Doha," said Rui Barros, senior vice president and managing director Europe, Middle East and Africa, Wyndham Hotel Group. "I have no doubt that Wyndham Dubai Marina will be another superb addition to the brand, which we are already growing in key cities throughout the Middle East." In addition to the Wyndham Grand Regency Doha, which opened in 2011, Wyndham Hotel Group has already announced the development of two Wyndham Hotels and Resorts properties in the Middle East. The Wyndham Grand Manama and Wyndham Grand Riyadh are both slated to open by the end of next summer, adding to a Middle East portfolio which already consists of more than 30 hotels and over 6,100 rooms. "The First Group is proud to be collaborating with such a renowned name in the global hotel industry on one of our most prestigious hotel developments to date," said Danny Lubert, co-founder and joint chairman of The First Group. "We are excited to be partnering with Wyndham Hotel Group on the first Wyndham Hotels and Resorts property in the UAE."
 |
| Add caption |
Wyndham Hotel Group has announced the signing of an exclusive development agreement for the Days Inn brand in Saudi Arabia with Riyada International Hotels and Resorts. Riyada International is currently the master franchisee for Wyndham's Ramada brand in the Gulf kingdom. The signing of the deal for 10 hotels was announced at the headquarters of the Saudi Commission of Tourism and Antiquities in Riyadh.
The development of the Days Inn portfolio in Saudi Arabia will be spread over the next seven years, officials said in a statement. Rui Barros, Wyndham Hotel Group's senior vice president and managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: "We are delighted to expand our relationship with Riyada International Hotels. "This brand has exceptional growth potential in this market as it is perfectly suited to the growing number of travelers seeking comfort and quality accommodation without a mid-market or upscale price tag."
Muhammad Al-Amir, founder and managing director of Riyada International Hotels and Resorts, added: "We have worked in partnership with Wyndham Hotel Group for the last seven years to successfully build the Ramada brand within the kingdom. "To now work together to launch Days Inn, another leading global brand, represents a significant milestone for us." Days Inn is a leading global brand in the economy segment with more guest rooms than any other economy brand in the world and over 1,830 hotels worldwide.
Existing Days Inn hotels in the Middle East include two hotels in Jordan and one in Bahrain.
Barros added: "We are fully committed to growing our presence in the Gulf, both through the expansion of our existing, trusted brands such as Ramada and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, as well as through the introduction of new brands such as Super 8 and Days Inn, which cater to currently under-served segments in the region."
 |
| Add caption |
The head of the world’s largest hospitality group has branded Dubai’s most grandiose hotels as monstrous and said he is not interested in building such properties. Eric Danziger said Wyndham Group, which has nearly 7,400 hotels with 15 brands across the world, was planning to rapidly boost its presence in the Gulf, particularly in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, but he would not be lured by opulence, instead choosing to fill a gap in the middle and lower ends of the market. I think the lion’s share of the properties [in Dubai] are big, monstrous Atlantises, Jumeirahs and all that. They’re wonderful but not everybody around the world can afford that so we need a good balance, Danziger, who is Wyndham Group CEO, told Arabian Business in an interview. I have no ego problem with having hotels in the market underneath the super luxury market; we’re okay with that. We never want to do a hotel that we can’t say is going to be a success just to add another hotel, it’s not our culture, so we’re working very hard with a lot of people with a lot of hotels.
Danziger said he was excited by the prospect of Dubai doubling its visitor numbers to 20m by 2020 and Wyndham was committed to participating in the growth. However, it would not be afraid to bring some of the group’s value brands, such as Days Inn and Super 8, alongside its most prestigious, Wyndham Hotel, he said. Dubai currently is heavily saturated with five-star property and that’s wonderful because there’s a five-star demand but some part of the 20m people is not going to be five stars, he says. So we have four-star brands, we have three-star brands, we have two-star brands. My instinct would be that more of our product coming in, while there will be several Wyndhams and Ramada Plazas, we’ll see some of those other mid-scale ones too because there’ll be a desire for more affordable properties for people. The company is already flexing its muscle in Saudi Arabia’s economy sector, with a contract to build 10 Days Inn roadside motels in seven years and 20 Super 8s in 10 years. Wyndham is expected to play a major role in providing for the rapidly expanding tourism sector in the kingdom, which is taking advantage of the hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims who make the annual voyage there as well as its booming domestic tourism as nationals become wealthier. The company also has announced its first five-star Wyndham Hotel in Dubai, to be built in Dubai Marina.
No comments:
Post a Comment