Expanding a luxury icon

Claire Ferris-Lay meets Fairmont president Thomas Storey, the man set to make the luxury hotel's expansion blueprint a reality.

Sitting in the penthouse suite at the Fairmont Dubai, surrounded by some of the best views of the city and overlooking a private indoor swimming pool, Thomas Storey looks at ease in his surroundings.

The newly appointed president of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) should be; he claims to never stay anywhere other than a Fairmont, preferring to stay in a "residential operation" if the luxury hotel isn't an option.

It won't be long before Storey has more options when on holiday though. Storey, who has been with FRHI for more than seven years, has already been instrumental in growing the hotel brand.

As executive vice president, development, for all three FRHI brands, the company gained over 100 new projects, including 50 new Fairmont projects - the most robust growth in the company's history.

In his new role Storey plans to continue to grow the luxury hotel chain even further. "As much as anything I'll be focusing on the growth of the company going forward and positioning the brand as a luxury one.

Despite having its roots firmly planted in North America, the "Storey/Fairmont Expansion Plan" is expected to focus on the MENA region and emerging markets rather than the US. "We have 55 hotels now and an additional 20 projects under development.

If you look at that pipeline about 30% of our growth is in this region so clearly the focal point for us [is here].

Last week Fairmont announced its first hotel in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, a joint project with the Saudi Binladin Group.

The Makkah Clock Royal Tower, so-called because of its giant 40-metre clock at the top of the building to indicate Muslim prayer times up to 17 km away, will house 1005 guest rooms and suites as well as 600-plus residential units in what is set to be one of the tallest buildings in the kingdom.

"It is quite a significant and iconic asset," says Storey. "If you think about the Middle East and Makkah being a beacon in the Muslim world, it will really do a lot in positioning Fairmont truly as a global brand.

The project, due to be competed in September in time for the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims on Hajj, cannot be finished quickly enough. Demand is high, says Storey.

"The hotel will be filled as soon as we can get it finished. The demand is so great in that region that it actually spills over into Jeddah and other locations," he adds.

FRHI is already in discussions with developers for further hotels in other cities in the kingdom.

For those that know Fairmont, the announcement of the project in Saudi Arabia came as no surprise. Undoubtedly Makkah represents one of the largest markets for tourists in the region, however, Fairmont's position as one of the first international hotel chains in the city is somewhat helped by its associations with HRH Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud.

In 2001 the prince, the world's fifth richest man, and investment group Colony Capital paid US$3.9bn for the Fairmont Group, then simply known as Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

Under the deal, the Fairmont brand combined with Raffles hotels, a portfolio of 33 properties in Asia and Europe, bringing the total number of hotels to 120 in 24 countries.