New vision for Ritz-Carlton Dubai

The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai plans to reposition its brand image now building works at Dubai Marina are near completion.

The boutique property aims to make a subtle shift from “highly sophisticated†to “casually elegantâ€, explained Peter Mainguy, who recently took the reins as the hotel’s general manager.

“We are trying to get away from our stuffy image, but want to reinforce our intimacy in terms of the service levels we provide,†he told ATN.

“‘New Dubai’ (Dubai Marina) empowers our intimacy.

Before building work took place you walked out [of the hotel] and there was nothing but desert.

Now we are in a new trendy area with shops, bars, restaurants and clubs and that enhances our offer, but we remain a boutique hotel on an exclusive beach. We are still a retreat.â€

Mainguy has already devised a new positioning statement, which reads: ‘Reconnect on an exclusive beachfront island situated in the heart of new Dubai Marina.

The Ritz-Carlton is an intimate retreat for a generous lifestyle.’

In addition, “Small finite items†have also been tweaked to achieve casual elegance and products have been enhanced.

For example, 400-thread count bed linen has been introduced, espresso machines are now offered in rooms and subtle changes have been made to the décor.

“There is a modern twist, without detracting from the traditional service that you would expect at The Ritz-Carlton,†said Mainguy.

An advertising campaign using black-and-white “lifestyle imagery†will be launched later this year to enforce the hotel’s new vision.

All trade collateral will feature this imagery in a bid to inform agents and operators that the hotel should now be sold as an “intimate retreatâ€.

Fam trips for agents Middle East-wide are also in the pipeline.