Dubai: Jannah Hotels and Resorts, an Abu Dhabi-based hotel operator and developer, is expanding globally to cater to demand for luxury and mid-scale hotel apartments.

The company is planning to open six hotel apartment buildings under its luxury and mid-scale brands, Jannah and Jannah Place respectively, in Dubai by early 2018, for which three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) have been signed.

“In Dubai, between institutions — like fund managers, developers and real estate companies — and private investors, we are in discussions on six projects. Dubai today is a very good area to grow in. There is a need for hotel apartments in the market because travellers that are coming here are looking for those,” Nehme Imad Darwiche, chief executive of Jannah Hotels, said in an interview on Wednesday.

Hotel apartments in Dubai are popular with families, especially from the Gulf. The number of guest nights spent in Dubai’s hotel apartments grew by 4.1 per cent in the first half of last year over the same period in 2013, according to the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. The length of stay in hotel apartments grew to 5.7 days during that period.

Jannah Hotels is also planning to sign an MoU with an unnamed individual owner on Thursday to manage a hotel and hotel apartment building in Al Ain, which will be part of a development that includes a shopping mall, Darwiche said. He did not say when the project is expected to be completed.

In neighbouring Oman, the company is planning to develop nine properties in a joint venture with an unnamed family-owned company. These include a luxury hotel apartment building (due to open in early 2016); seven three-star hotels under a new brand called Bedoinn (all likely to open by 2019); and a luxury boutique resort, an opening date for which has not been set.

The hotels under the Bedoinn brand will target young travellers.

“The millennials are travelling for the destination. They are not travelling to stay in the big brand hotels. They just need a great room that is clean with internet and great service,” he said

The company is also in discussions with three developers in South Korea to open a hotel apartment building under the Jannah brand by February 2017 in a joint venture. He declined to name the developers but did say that he expects to strike a deal with them in late August this year.

The property, which will be located in South Korean capital Seoul, will target travellers from the Gulf.

“What we’re building are hotel apartments that target travellers from this part of the world that consider South Korea as a destination for leisure, business or medical reasons. I believe that more and more Emirati and GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] travellers are going to South Korea for medical [reasons] and tourism,” Darwiche said.

The apartment building could be the first of other properties for Jannah Hotels in South Korea.

“There is an opportunity in South Korea. For now, there is a need for maybe three hotel apartments with this segment in mind,” he said.

Jannah Hotels is also interested in expanding into North Africa and Europe.

“Today we are not in discussions with developers but it is a target for us to be in North Africa and Europe. In Europe, we are in discussions with real estate portfolio owners — the people from the UAE that own real estate in London and Switzerland. We want to either buy [properties] or go into joint ventures,” he said.

The company currently operates the Eastern Mangroves Suites by Jannah and Jannah Place Dubai Marina. Last week, it had the preliminary opening of its third UAE property — Marina Bay Suites by Jannah in Dubai Marina. The 115-suite luxury property, which is owned by Bin Rubaye Group in Abu Dhabi, will “target customers that want to be in JBR [Jumeirah Beach Residence] but don’t want to pay JBR prices,” Darwiche said. Marina Bay Suites’ average room rate is Dh1,100 and occupancy rate for the first year of operation is 60 per cent, he said.

Meanwhile, the hotel operator has pushed back the opening of a business hotel in Dubai Marina, under a brand called Solo, which was meant to open next year. It has not set a new opening date.

“We changed our minds about a couple of design issues and that is why the building will be delayed a little bit,” Darwiche said.

The company is also looking for a new plot of land for a hotel in Fujairah. It was due to open in 2018, but that could be delayed. Darwiche did not say when it will likely open.