Ritz-Carlton reports strong recovery in Asia and the Middle East
Posted on 06 May 2010 with no comments from readers
The Ritz-Carlton hotel chain is delighted with the recovery in its Asian and Middle Eastern hotels this year but the United States ’still has a long way to go’, President and CEO Simon E. Cooper told ArabianMoney at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
‘In Dubai we saw Q1 occupancy levels above 80 per cent and room rates were up too,’ he said. ‘We are going up as fast as Emirates Airline is bringing new seats into this market, as a percentage of these new visitors will come to us.’
Doha behind
Mr Cooper said that the expansion of Qatar Airways was not having the same impact just yet because Doha ‘lacked the demand generators’ for hotel rooms, although he noted that a new convention centre was likely to make a difference. The Bahrain Ritz-Carlton is the big success story with no downturn in 2009, partly because its main rival hotel is closed for refurbishment.
The next Ritz-Carlton will be the chain’s second hotel in Shanghai, China, a 60-storey hotel in Pudong. Then towards the end of the year the group will open the tallest hotel in the world on the 103-118th floors of a new tower in Kowloon opposite Hong Kong island.
Asia is booming. ‘A full hotel is never overheating,’ comments Mr Cooper who not surprisingly has nothing but praise for the way Asian governments have managed their economies recently. However, he sticks to his prediction of the last Dubai ATM that 2007 group occupancy and revenue levels will not be seen again until 2012.
‘In North America employment is just not happening. We are hoping to see low single digit growth this year. But that is in the context of a 15 per cent revenue drop last year. We are preparing for a long haul.’
DIFC Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton has high hopes for its next Middle East property in the Dubai International Financial Centre, now due to open before the end of the year. This hotel will have 341 guest rooms and 124 serviced apartments, as well as a 1,400 square metre ballroom, and 2,500 workers are presently working on the site.
Owner Union Properties has very publicly put this hotel up for sale before it is even finished, attracting serious interest. But in the meantime general manager Pascal Duchauffour is on site and says there will be absolutely no compromise on an outstanding product.
The first Ritz-Carlton in Dubai is also set for a major expansion, starting this July with a new 152-room wing, spa complex, restaurants and a chill-out lounge. Its owner is investing now while construction costs are on the floor.
