6

N E W S U P D AT E

OPENINGS GROWTH

Time Asma Hotel

general manager
Ghada Mahgoub.

TIME UNVEILS GCCS

FIRST FEMALE-RUN
MID-MARKET HOTEL
HOTEL TO HAVE 80% FE-
MALE REPRESENTATION
INCLUDING GM
Time Hotels new four-star
hotel in Dubais Al Barsha
district, Time Asma Hotel,
will aim to be operated by AHIC co-founder and Bench Evemts chairman
Jonathan Worsley (left) with Choice Hotels
80% female sta head- International president and CEO Stephen P. Joyce .

ed by general manager
Ghada Mahgoub and will
feature dedicated facili-
ties for female travellers,
CEO Mohamed Awadalla
announced during a press
conference at the 2017 Ara-
bian Travel Market (ATM).
Also in attendance at the
press conference were
Mahgoub, a 20-year hospi-
tality management veteran,
and the hotels owner, Dr.
Sheikha Noori Jaber.
Due to open in Q4 2017,
Time Asma Hotel will
feature 232 rooms over six
oors, a spa, a gym, a swim-
ming pool, jacuzzi, four
meeting rooms, a business
centre and two restaurants
for both female and male
travellers. Plans are in
place for two oors of the
hotel to be dedicated exclu-
sively for the use of female
travellers, with services run
by female-only sta in room
service, front desk as well as
in guest relations.
CHOICE HOTELS
TARGETS KSA &UAE
Active pipeline consists of seven hotels signed and committed
US-based Choice Hotels Interna-
tional is intent on rolling out its
mid-market brand Comfort to
the Middle East, president and
CEO Stephen P. Joyce revealed
during an industry session at the
2017 Arabian Hotel Investment
Conference (AHIC) in Dubai.
Joyce also highlighted the po-
tential for Choice brand, Clarion,
in his talk.
The brands that were
bringing here are ones which we
think will work really well. We
think theres real opportunity
for Clarion. The real opportunity
is in Comfort, which is a lodging
product thats select service-fo-
cused, provides breakfast, qual-
ity bedding, good sized rooms
and can t families in a comfort
suite. Suites are outstanding for
families because theyre double
double, have a pull-out couch,
and provides value for families
whether theyre travelling for
religious purposes or leisure but
also for business travellers as
well. We think that the time is
right and this is our expertise,
Joyce declared on stage in con-
versation with AHIC co-founder
and Bench Events chairman
Jonathan Worsley during a ses-
sion entitled Global CEO Series:
Catalysts of Change.
Joyce also said that in the
mid-market space, what both
owners and investors, as well
as end consumers, ultimately
look for is value.He continued:
Historically if you look at this
region, you can pull away the
chandelier and the marble but
not change the operating model.
The operating model should be
20 to 25 employees in the hotel.
It should have very low CAPEX
to get in, relatively high margin
production and be low cost to
operate but at the same time,
satisfy guests needs in a way
that isnt being done currently. If
you look at Choice, were almost
7,000 hotels we have brands
from upper economy to upper
upscale but in each case, it rep-
resents value across the board.
When questioned, Joyce con-
rmed that Choice already has
an active pipeline of seven hotels
in the Middle East, with a focus
on the UAE and Saudi Arabia,
following its strategic agree-
ment last year with Equinox and
Al Tayyar Travel Group.

H O T E L I E R M I D D L E E A S T. C O M JUNE 2017