Al Moosa Enterprises, a Dubai conglomerate with interests spanning real estate, construction, automotive and interiors, plans to build three hotels spanning a million square feet of land on the Palm Jumeirah, to be operated by global hospitality brands Hilton, Taj and Marriott.
“We are not only expanding our footprint in the UAE, but also helping to strengthen Dubai’s tourism sector, by bringing an additional 1,500 hotel rooms to support the Government’s tourism vision,” Faisal Al Moosa, the company representative for Al Moosa Enterprise said on Sunday.
The hotels are already under construction and due for completion in 2019. They will bring the total number of hotels operated by Al Moosa to 16, with a total of 4,735 rooms. The group operates nine hotels in Dubai, including its oldest brand Golden Sands, Four Points by Sheraton and the Ramada Plaza in JBR, as well as two in Sharjah and two in Oman. The investment value of the latest three properties was not revealed.
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Hilton The Palm will be located on the trunk of the man-made Palm Jumeirah island and feature 608 rooms and suites. Marriott The Palm is a beachfront hotel on the trunk too, also with 608 rooms and suites, while the luxury Taj Exotica Resort & Spa is located on the eastern crescent of The Palm and aimed at the wealthy Indian expatriate community, Laurent Rigaud, Al Moosa's general manager of operations, told The National at the ATM travel show in Dubai.
Occupancy rates across Al Moosa’s hospitality portfolio stand at above 90 per cent, Mr Rigaud said – higher than the Dubai average of 77.7 per cent, according to a report from consultancy EY in March.
Mr Rigaud said he was anticipating another strong year for the group’s hotels, although he declined to reveal details of financial performance.
“There has been pressure due to increasing supply in the Dubai hotels market, but our occupancy rates are high,” Mr Rigaud said. “Dubai is a volume market – look at the continued expansion of Emirates airline and steady rise in visitor numbers recorded by Dubai Tourism. We are confident in growth for 2018.”
Al Moosa, which owns developer Arenco Real Estate, is also expanding in the residential real estate sector, with two projects under construction in Dubai and due to complete in 2020.
The first is a development of 20 to 25 villas in Jumeirah Village Circle and the second is a tower of around 400 Golden Sands-branded serviced apartments in Al Mankhool.
There are no plans to expand into Abu Dhabi at present, although over the longer term, Al Moosa may look to enter Saudi Arabia or other GCC markets other than Oman, where it owns the Crowne Plaza Muscat, Mr Rigaud said.
