TRAVEL TRADE MENA: Al Khoory Hotels’ portfolio already includes two establishments, namely Al Khoory Hotel Apartments, Al Barsha and Al Khoory Executive Hotel, Al Wasl, and the company is now busy preparing for the launch of its third project in Dubai. Please tell us about the soon-to-open hotel.
PIERRE SOKHON: Al Khoory Hospitality is pursuing a midmarket vision to offer 1,100 rooms in Dubai by the end of 2019.
New openings will start off with Al Khoory Atrium Hotel Al Barsha which has 227 rooms and is set to open in July. With free Wi-Fi and a media hub in every room, the hotel’s offering is complemented by its convenient location midway between Dubai International and Al Maktoum International Airport with Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre just 10 minutes away.
The property also offers meeting rooms with banquet and conference facilities for up to 70 people. All hotels within the group are Halal and have a no smoking policy […].
Further openings lined up are Al Khoory Inn Bur Dubai with 69 rooms, set to open in 2017, Al Khoory Courtyard Hotel Al Quoz with 159 rooms and Al Khoory Central Hotel Al Quoz with 99 rooms, both set to open in 2019, and Al Khoory Plaza Hotel Deira featuring 370 rooms, planned for 2020. At the same time, Al Khoory Group has bought new land on the Airport Road in Dubai, where it will open another three-star hotel with 370 rooms; this will be the first hotel that guests see upon leaving Dubai International heading towards the city.
TRAVEL TRADE MENA: Will the focus remain on Dubai?
PIERRE SOKHON: Al Khoory Hotels’ expansion is not limited to Dubai; the group is also poised to implement regional expansion plans, including two midmarket properties in Sohar and one in Muscat.
Al Khoory Hotels will open properties in the GCC, and also has plans for Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and even as far away as Indonesia in the future.
TRAVEL TRADE MENA: How do the Al Khoory properties differ from other accommodation establishments?
PIERRE SOKHON: At Al Khoory Hotels we see the strongest number of holiday-makers arriving from the GCC. Our second-strongest market is weekend visitors, arriving largely from the Middle East region, coming to Dubai for shopping or weekend activities.
Our guests love the hotels and the rates are acceptable for the market – especially considering the central locations in which we operate. […]
We aim to stand out with our KISS strategy: keep it simple and sweet. […]
TRAVEL TRADE MENA: How do you think will Dubai’s hotel sphere evolve over the coming years?
PIERRE SOKHON: [...] In the long run Dubai will cope with all the guests and demands, largely because of Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing and the guidance of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, [ruler of Dubai], but also because of the efforts of hotels working together to promote Dubai as a desirable destination. We are not working against each other – the best thing is that we are all working together to make a success story of Dubai. […] We are all shaping the emirate.
TRAVEL TRADE MENA: What issues are on top of your agenda?
PIERRE SOKHON: Dubai is facing a staff shortage on the horizon, especially with the continued growth of the midmarket hospitality sector. In 2015, we experienced a 24 percent staff turnover.
[...] In response to this we made an action plan: we give our employees the best accommodation, very close to our hotels, with the highest standards in the industry, we provide allowances for food, we organise outings for staff too, in addition to holding monthly meetings to offer awards to the best employees. […]
All our new and existing hotels will be going green to save energy and the environment. […] We already took the initiative and invested USD82,000 in water and energy programmes in our hotels […]. We expect to see a three to four year return on investment. […]
