São Paulo – The Jumeirah Group, based in Dubai, in United Arab Emirates, is celebrating a good phase in business. The chain’s beachfront hotels, which include the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Madinat Jumeirah, recorded occupation rates of 92.5% in April and an average of 89% in February and March.
The Jumeirah Emirates Towers recorded an occupation rate of 75% in February and March 2010, reflecting the recovery of business tourism. The information was supplied by the company’s press office. The group’s chain also comprises the Burj Al Arab, a postcard of Dubai.
In New York, the Jumeirah Essex House achieved an occupation of 85% in April, and the end of the spring season and beginning of summer are expected to be busy. In London, the Jumeirah Group’s units – Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel – have performed in a similar way.
“The high occupancy rates at our hotels confirms that Dubai has maintained and consolidated its position as a preferential destination for demanding travellers. This, along with the solid performance of our business hotels in London and New York, gives us renewed confidence in the implementation of our growth strategy, and confirms our plans of launching a second brand before the year ends,” said Gerald Lawless, executive chairman do Grupo Jumeirah, according to a release issued by the company.
Within this scenario, the company is updating its growth strategy and has disclosed the name of its new hotel brand, VENU Hotels, to be launched late this year. It will be a brand of five-star hotels and contemporary lifestyle, with a collection of global destinations expressing the local spirit. The group is at an advanced stage of negotiation with investors interested in managing VENU hotels in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia.
According to Lawless, once launched, the VENU Hotels are going to meet a market demand that will be complementary to the Jumeirah brand. “We are eager for this intense, stimulating period of opening new hotels, attracting new guests and introducing a new brand concept to the world,” he added, according to the release.
In addition to the 11 hotels and resorts that the group operates currently, the Jumeirah Group has 32 management agreements in effect worldwide. The company hopes to open at least ten new hotels in the next 18 months, including Jumeirah Frankfurt, Jumeirah Messilah Beach (Kuwait), two hotels in the Maldives, Jumeirah Etihad Towers (Abu Dhabi), as well as enterprises in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Shanghai, and other cities to be confirmed over the next few months.
The group reaffirms its growth strategy of having 60 hotel management agreements by the end of 2012. The company is confident that it should establish 30 new hotels by 2013.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
