Brand new look for Express in Middle East

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The newly opened Holiday Inn Express Dubai Safa Park features all the hallmarks of the relaunched brand.

The opening of the 171-room Holiday Inn Express Dubai Safa Park in Dubai saw the debut of the new-look brand in the region.

IHG re-launched the brand earlier this year, with changes to the traditional logo, reception area and guest experience part of the makeover.

And with the brand only launching in the region last year, consumers have been quick to embrace the brand's ethos of value-for-money, according to vice president development Middle East and Africa Phil Kasselis.

"Safa Park is a major emerging business hub, you only have to look at the corporations that are based here already," he said.

"Certainly when you look at Business Bay across the road, that is going to generate demand for accommodation, but particularly value-conscious accommodation. Most of the hotels in Business Bay are of a five-star standard, and accordingly to be able to price ourselves under those hotels provides a very attractive value proposition.

"We have spoken about Express targeting the corporate market, but also there has been a lot of evidence of us targeting the leisure market. Even in Dubai, people are looking for value in their accommodation, and the money they save on that is being used for the rest of their holidays in terms of shopping and other activities. If you look at the US and Europe, that is exactly what the brand offers."

Kasselis said the brand was set to expand into markets such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat, as well as secondary destinations such as Fujairah.

"[Fujairah is] growing as a business destination, because there is a lot of infrastructure going in and there are a lot of business parks being built there," he explained.

"When you look at a Holiday Inn Express with 150-200 rooms, these are not 500-room hotels that will take a lot of room nights to fill. Holiday Inn Express fills a niche, and if you have a business park that has some key anchor tenants generating demand for accommodation, then it can survive on that."

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