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Dubai: Aldar, the largest property developer in the cash-rich Abu Dhabi emirate, will soon launch its own hotel management company to operate some of the 40-odd hotels it is building, a top official has said.
"We will set up a separate hotel management company to operate some of the hotels that we are developing, although the majority of these will be managed by reputed international operators," Paul Bell, Managing Director of Aldar Hotels and Hospitality told the media on Wednesday.
"We have currently 12 hotels under development in Abu Dhabi, including six to be delivered next year. About 10 of the 40 hotels under planning and development will be for the mid-market segment, either three or four-star rated hotels. The majority will be of five-star rating catering to the leisure and corporate markets."
The Abu Dhabi Exchange listed company on Wednesday said it has signed a management contract with Movenpick Hotels and Resorts to operate a new 300-room hotel project at Al Raha Beach development.
Island resort
This is the second hotel property to be developed and built by Aldar as part of a strategic alliance between the two companies which includes the development of three hotels in Abu Dhabi on Aldar projects.
This particular hotel will be an island resort in the residential precinct of Al Seef, in Al Raha Beach. The first hotel to be developed as part of the deal concluded in 2007 is a 500-room luxury hotel on Yas Island which is due to open in late 2010.
"The agreement we have signed with Movenpick Hotels & Resorts delivers on Aldar's strategy of partnering with world class operators who have the experience and scale to ensure the best facilities and services are delivered to our customers," Bell said.
Andreas Mattmuller, Senior Vice President in Middle East and Asia at Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, said: "This deal with Aldar reinforces our commitment to providing Swiss hospitality to the Middle East and especially Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the UAE."
The Swiss hotel chain has 20 projects in the Middle East and will add 25 more in five years time that will raise its international portfolio beyond the current 60.
The Abu Dhabi government last year announced an ambitious urban development that will see visitor traffic to the UAE capital double by 2012, as part of the government's economic diversification plan.
Major developers and investors in Abu Dhabi are currently working towards realising the government's economic plan that will strengthen the UAE's position as the most preferred destination in the Middle East.
"Although some of the regional markets are saturated, Abu Dhabi's tourism and hospitality sector is under-served," Bell told Gulf News.
"We have seen revPAR (revenue per available room per night) jump 75 per cent in 2007 - which is much higher than that of the international markets where the average revPAR growth is in single digits.
"So the market potential in Abu Dhabi is quite high and it will remain so for the years to come."
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