Juma Al Majid Group launches hospitality arm

Dubai: Juma Al Majid Group, a Dubai-based conglomerate, has launched Jood Hospitality, its new hospitality arm, according to a statement from the group on Wednesday.

The new division will manage Jood Palace Hotel — Dubai, formerly known as Taj Palace Hotel. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces said earlier this month that it will no longer operate the Taj Palace Hotel, which is owned by Juma Al Majid Group. It had run the Taj Palace Hotel Dubai since 2001.

The hotel, known as Jood Palace Hotel- Dubai since the beginning of this month, has not made any changes to its staff. It has also not been refurbished.

The hotel, located in Deira, features 147 rooms, 12 suites, 90 serviced apartments, food and beverage outlets, as well as meeting and convention facilities.

Dubai is seeing a rise in hotel room supply, which has lowered average room rates. In August, average daily rates dropped 12.5 per cent year-on-year to Dh587.50, according to data from research firm STR Global. This, coupled with a 1.7 per cent decline in occupancy to 74.2 per cent, led revenue per available room to drop 13.9 per cent to Dh435.60.

Next year, 20,000 more rooms are expected to enter the market, according to the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM). Between 140,000 and 160,000 rooms are needed by 2020, when the emirate aims to welcome 20 million visitors annually and host Expo 2020, which is anticipated to attract 25 million visitors.