Brand explosion in the Middle East

Brands have to establish strong differentiating features or else consumers become confused.

Hotel industry expert Guy Wilkinson scrambles for higher ground as new brands flood into the region.

With literally hundreds of new hotels under development in the Gulf as we speak, brands have probably become the single most important differentiator in our industry, causing a reversal of the traditional bargaining strength of the owners, in favour of the operators.

There was a time, not so many years ago, that the chains would fall over themselves - not to mention becoming extremely flexible with their fees - when a new management contract opportunity came along.

Nowadays, unless the project on offer is absolutely out of this world, fat cat development directors in established chains just yawn and add another layer of paperwork to their already sagging in-trays - much to the dismay of enthusiastic investors, who are increasingly seeking brands that are new to the region in reaction.

The recent Arabian Hotel Investment Conference and the Arabian Travel Market offered hotel developers a brilliant shop window onto a positive spate of new brands, and even a number of new chains.

Dry hotels being the flavour of the month, we were treated to the launches of both Layia Hospitality and Almulla Hospitality, two new UAE chains entering the Islamic hotel market.

Each chain will boast three brands, the former creating Layia Hotels, Living Courts (serviced apartments) and a three-star hotel brand (suggestions on a postcard to the editor), while the latter will launch Cliftonwood, Adham and Wings (five-, four- and three-star respectively), two of which sound thoroughly un-Islamic.

Illustrating the difficulty of defining brands, Layia will offer such differentiators as 'devoted willingness' and 'hearty warmth' in terms of service. Another new local chain is Pearl Azure, which owns the Crowne Plaza properties in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and will reportedly launch its own Vista brand soon.

Other chains due to debut in this region will include Italy's posh Baglioni boutique hotel chain, which will be running a swish hotel at Dubai's Business Bay; another Italian chain, Domina, which already has a significant presence in Egypt and is soon to open in Bahrain; India's Bharat Hotels, bringing its The Grand insignia to a Rajasthani fort-style resort in Jumeirah; Rixos, a Turkish upscale operator soon to launch the Ottoman Palace resort on The Palm; and Hard Rock Hotels, which will set up shop in the Dubai International Financial Centre area.

The established chains are also adding new brands like there's no tomorrow. Local hero Rotana now has an unprecedented future GCC pipeline comprising 28 hotels containing 9152 rooms and suites.

It also has two new brands in addition to its (typically) five-star Rotana core brand and three-star Centros: Arjaan for suites and Rayhaan for alcohol-free properties.

Its future properties comprise 15 more Rotanas, eight Centros and six Arjaans, but no confirmed Rayhaans yet. Its increasingly high-profile local competitor, Coral International, has also launched a serviced apartments brand, EWA, as well as its revolutionary (for this region) two-star Ecos brand, combining the virtues of economy and ecology, which has already picked up a major design award, even before its first hotel has opened.

Naturally, the big boys are adding brands too. Accor has no fewer than 35 hotels under development in the Gulf, among which will be the first Suitehotel in the region, an interesting, affordable suite concept with a flexible partition, allowing punters to customise their space to emphasise the bedroom or the living room/office.

I understand that several hotels in the pipeline will be converted to Accor's new Pullman luxury corporate brand, starting with the erstwhile Mercure Grand at Jumeirah Lake Towers.

Starwood is getting groovier daily and is already planning to put three Ws in the GCC at The Palm, Dubai Festival City and in Doha's West Bay. It will also open its first aloft designer four-star property at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre.

"Infused with the DNA of W Hotels, aloft is a new destination sensation featuring loft-inspired design, accessible technology and a stylish urban attitude," gushes the press release. W and aloft are buzz word heaven. The latter boasts a ‘re:mix' communal area, 're:charge' gym, 're:fuel' one-stop F&B area and a pool called 'splash'. Re:ally! If it's all just too cool for you, you could always book into one of Starwood's upcoming St. Regis hotels, the epitome of posh, or the Saray Al Amir at the Saraya Islands in Ras Al Khaimah, which will be a member of Starwood's staid and exclusive Luxury Collection.

Hilton's regional office has inherited some great brands from the US, including the Waldorf-Astoria Collection, of which the ultra-exclusive Qasr Al Sharq all-suites property in Jeddah is now a member, Doubletree (five-star) and Hilton Garden Inn (four-star). Expect to see them emblazoned on a hotel near you before long.

Millennium has announced that the first Biltmore Hotel will open in Abu Dhabi in 2009, an upscale product named after an 80-year landmark hotel in Los Angeles. South Africa's Southern Sun chain, building on its overnight success in Dubai with the Al Manzil and Qamardeen hotels, will open the world's second three-star SunSquare hotel in Abu Dhabi (the first in Johannesburg is billed as ‘the happening hotel for happening people' - rock on).

Finally, it's a sign of the Gulf times that those two pillars of the mid-market, Golden Tulip and Ramee, have both launched five-star brands - Royal Tulip and Ramee Grand - with multiple properties planned in our region.

Long may the brands proliferate, to make our lives more colourful and the investors more confused.

Guy Wilkinson is a director of Viability, a hospitality and property consulting firm in Dubai. For more information, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

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