Jumeirah expects 8-10 per cent jump in 2013 revenue

Dubai: Jumeirah Group expects an 8 to 10 per cent revenue growth in 2013 over previous year, according to its top executive.

“We are looking at between eight and ten per cent growth in our revenue this year over 2012,” Gerald Lawless, President and chief executive of the luxury hotel management company, said on Sunday on the sidelines of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC).

“2012 was a good year. And when you open more hotels, obviously it will go up more,” he added.

With 22 properties open at present Jumeirah has 12 projects under construction and 18 in the pipeline [signed agreements], according to Lawless.

In the first quarter of 2013, Jumeirah hotels saw revenue per available room (RevPAR, an industry standard for measuring performance), increase by 22 per cent over the same period in 2012. Whereas, average occupancy grew by nine per cent globally in the same period, as did the average daily rate [rose by nine per cent].

“The full year of 2012 and the first four months of 2013 have been a tremendous success for Jumeirah,” said Lawless.

The top five source markets for Jumeirah’s properties in the UAE, meanwhile, continue to be Russia (19 per cent), the United Kingdom (16.2 per cent), the GCC (14.1 per cent), Germany (7.4 per cent) and the United States (3.5 per cent), the group said in a statement.

New opportunities

Commenting on new opportunities being eyed by the group in new markets, Lawless said: “Several years ago we established what we called our key ‘letterhead’ locations. So we have about 30 of these locations around the world where we really aspire to be.”

Elaborating further, he said these include Asia (Hong Kong, Tokyo, for instance), Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth), Jkarta, Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam and Africa.

“And if things stabilise, then maybe places like Pakistan. It would be very appropriate for us to be in Islamabad and Karachi and perhaps Lahore,” said Lawless.

He went on to say that the group is keen on Mauritius and Seychelles as resort destinations.

In the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), meanwhile, Jumeirah is keen to gain an entry into the Saudi Arabian market.

“We are having very encouraging and serious talks for a number of projects in Saudi Arabia,” said Lawless, adding that the group aspires to be in key cities of the country including Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Medina and Al Khobar.

The group is further eyeing strong presence in the Indian market. With its first property in India — Jumeirah Mumbai — due to open in 2017, Jumeirah is eyeing other key cities in the country including Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi and Goa, according to Lawless. “We are in serious discussions with the Mumbai owner to do another property in Goa,” he said.

Among other projects lined up in the region is the new Madinat Jumeirah Hotel, the Madinat Jumeirah Phase IV as the company calls it, the construction work on which will commence this summer with the hotel expected to open at the end of 2015. This development brings Jumeirah’s total number of hotels in the UAE to 10.

Jumeirah also confirmed that its new hotel in Kuwait, Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa, will have its soft opening on May 7, 2013.