NEW YORK— Chris Cahill, president/COO of Canada-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, last week said he was “cautiously optimistic” regarding the opening of the company’s 38th property set for February in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Cahill, at the chain’s New York flagship The Plaza to launch a three-prong e-business strategy last week, told HOTEL BUSINESS® the events of Sept. 11 have had an impact on Dubai, although more in terms of leisure business out of Europe than commercial business. “It’s quite a commercial hub, so the center city in Dubai is not down as much; it’s off 5%-7%. There’s some pullback on groups. There’s also a very large Middle East market—it’s own domestic market— so we will put a lot of emphasis on that,” he said. As previously reported, the 393-room Fairmont Dubai is a strategic alliance between His Highness, Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to build and operate luxury hotels in the region. “Dubai is a specific opportunity with a great partner— the royal family of Abu Dhabi— that’s got a lot of influence in the marketplace. It’s an alliance that involves the potential of five properties over a period of time. We felt very comfortable dealing with that type of partner,” said Cahill. The hotel is connected via a skywalk over the highway to the convention center, which itself is currently undergoing what Cahill termed a “massive expansion.” The Fairmont basically will be structured as a mixed-use project with an apartment component, as well as some 80,000sf of office space over four floors. The property will offer 115 suites, a spa/health facility, and 12 restaurants and lounges. “It’s a great asset that has some inherent demand generators,” said Cahill, noting it will have some of the most expansive suites in Dubai— many two- and three-bedroom units that connect to others. “So for large families, especially in the Middle East, it’s a pretty ideal product. A lot of our competitors are restricted in that regard. It’s quite a significant hotel.” Cahill said Fairmont is “cautiously optimistic on the property. “I’m very confident with our opening plan and the way we’re focused on the market. If we implement well I think we’ll be very successful.”
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