Business | Tourism
Layia promises affordable accommodation
A new hotel management company launched in Dubai is promising to create "affordable accommodation in the city's luxury-dominated hospitality sector.
- By Shakir Husain, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:31 April 6, 2008
Dubai: A new hotel management company launched in Dubai is promising to create "affordable accommodation in the city's luxury-dominated hospitality sector.
Layia Hospitality will operate a collection of four- and five-star hotels, serviced villas and furnished apartments.
The company is 51 per cent owned by Dubai-listed Gulf General Investment Company (GGIC), which is also a major investor in Layia's new projects.
Under its Living Courts brand, the company will manage furnished apartments equipped with basic hotel amenities and self-catering options.
Daniel Hajjar, managing partner of Layia Hospitality, said the owners of these apartment blocks will get "returns higher than normal residential buildings at minimal additional costs."
Centrally located, these apartments will be placed at the lower end of the hotel accommodation business, and are designed to attract budget-conscious visitors to the city.
"We want to show that Dubai offers choices and it is not as expensive as people think. We will attract people who are in Dubai on short work contracts, those who arrive to take up new jobs, GCC families, and junior staff from companies," Hajjar said.
In both furnished flats and hotels, Layia is introducing a work culture that would appear to be less formal.
"There will be less of the protocol that you see in other hotels. Our staff would not wear ties; they do not need to hide behind a stiff dress," Hajjar said, adding that "guests are not going to miss anything in the quality of service."
The company already has one 100-apartment block in operation here. Six hotels and furnished apartment properties are scheduled to open by the end of 2009 and one block of flats will open in Sharjah in December.
Hajjar said Layia will be managing 475 rooms by the end of 2008 and the number of rooms will grow to 3,100 in the next three years.
Additionally, Layia is working to develop a three-star hotel brand and could have 15 to 20 of these hotels operating in seven years.
Hajjar said GGIC has set aside Dh4 billion to invest in the hospitality sector and some of this money will be spent on Layia hotels.
Outside the UAE, the company will look for properties in Jordan, Egypt, Sudan and other GCC countries.
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