Dubai: India-based Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, plans to open at least five properties in the Middle East over the coming few years, according to a senior executive at the company. The luxury hotel chain opened its first hotel in the region, in Dubai, nearly a year ago.
“The aim is to have at least five more properties open in the Middle East over the next five years,” Karim Bizid, General manager of The Oberoi in Dubai, told Gulf News on Tuesday on the sidelines of a conference.
“That is the strategy and we are working very closely with our executive chairman [PRS Oberoi] on this. He is a strong believer in this region and is keen [to have more properties here]. And we are confident that we will reach our target,” he added. “We are being approached on a weekly basis by a lot of partners.”
Among those announced in the region include one property in Ajman, which will open in the next “48 months”.
Oberoi is further working on a plan for two properties in Abu Dhabi, which the company is working on with the owners, according to Bizid.
Elsewhere in the region, the hotel group is looking to open properties in Qatar, Oman and a couple of properties in Morocco — in Casablanca and Marrakech. “And there are many others which will be announced over a period of time,” he said.
Asked how much the Middle East is likely to account for the group’s overall global revenues over the next few years, Bizid did not divulge details but said: “It has never been about the quantity but more about the quality for us.”
Eyeing hotels at DWC
In order to cash in on the World Expo 2020 opportunity, The Oberoi is in discussions to open hotels in the Dubai World Central (DWC) area, the site for Expo 2020, according to Bizid. “We are in discussions with a few key partners for some properties over there,” he said, without divulging further details.
