HMH seeks to expand its presence in Africa

Dubai: South Africa is in focus this summer as it hosts the World Cup football. In addition to airlines, hotels are also gearing up to cash in on the expected boom in business.

Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH), a Dubai-based hotel operator, was quick to open its first hotel in Cape Town last month.

This year is set to be a landmark year for HMH with a hotel opening practically every three weeks across its four brands.

A home-grown holdings company, HMH has gone global within a span of five years and has 20 openings lined up this year. In an interview, Michael Noblet, CEO of HMH, discussed his plans for the year and beyond.

Excerpts:

Gulf News: From Dubai to Cape Town is a long journey. How did you make it so quickly?

Michael Noblet: It makes us truly proud to see that Coral Hotels & Resorts, which was officially launched in Dubai in 2004, has been extremely well received not just regionally but internationally. We are happy to export the world famous Arabic style of hospitality combined with our distinctive service to other parts of the world. Aside from the Middle East we have a strong development taking place in Africa. We have just added three new exciting destinations with the opening of Coral International Cape Town in South Africa, Coral Suites Al Hamra in Beirut and Coral Sudan and Coral Khartoum in Sudan.

Out of the four hotels you opened recently, three are in Africa. Why's that?

In the foreseeable future, the engine of growth will be in Africa. According to STR Global African hotels performed better with increases in ADR [Average Daily Rate] and RevPAR [Revenue Per Available Room] for the month of December.

Overall, the Middle East Africa region finished 2009 with 13.3-per cent RevPAR decline but still reported the highest RevPAR ($95.44; Dh350.48) of all the regions.

We are delighted to be present in this key market and look forward to further expansion with a diversified portfolio catering to all segments of travellers — from luxury 5-star hotels to budget properties.

How do see your growth in South Africa, especially now that all eyes turn to the country with the World Cup only a few months away?

The demand for accommodations far exceeds supply in South Africa owing to the Football World Cup.

Swamped with business, it is currently the most attractive place in the world for hotels.

The country is spending a whopping 40 billion rand on projects related to the World Cup including new hotels, safari lodges and stadiums.

A record 450,000 international visitors are expected during the tournament, which kicks off in June. It was a huge challenge to open our hotel, Coral International Cape Town, in time for this mega event and we are truly proud to have made this deadline.