What is Habtoor’s plan for 2005?
During 2005 Habtoor Hospitality, the hotel division of the Al Habtoor Group, will be opening two prestigious properties.

The first – the Habtoor Grand Hotel Convention Centre and Spa - will open in May 2005 in Beirut. This magnificent building is the tallest in Beirut and consists of 206 luxurious suites and rooms, tastefully furnished with attention to the finest details. This huge project will provide Beirut with several firsts: the largest hotel meeting room in the Lebanon, the first themed shopping mall and the largest Beirut hotel spa. By cleverly constructing a bridge linking this new property with its many facilities to the Metropolitan Palace Hotel, Habtoor City has been created enabling meeting professionals to organise complex conferences and seminars between the two properties in surrounding and facilities not previously available in Beirut. Also in Beirut, the company has recently opened Habtoorland, Lebanon’s first full-fledged theme park opened just 10 minutes drive from the city.
The second hotel to open will be the Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa located on Dubai’s famous Jumeirah Beach. This property will open in summer 2005, adding a much required 442-rooms to Dubai’s premier tourist location, the Jumeirah Beach area.  Furthermore, these hotels will add a new dimension to Habtoor Hospitality and underline the company's commitment to the Middle East’s growing tourism industry.
“Habtoor Hospitality is quietly confident that the growth witnessed in 2004 in both Dubai and Beirut will continue throughout 2005. With our new hotels, increased focus on marketing and sales and wider distribution networks we look forward to another successful year,” said David Danby, group director, sales and marketing.

What’s the company’s strategy in the face of competition?
Habtoor Hospitality hotels will continue their broad marketing approach and, with the opening of the two large new properties, will embark on more overseas sales trips during the new year and participate in more international trade fairs and step up our marketing efforts within the GCC countries.

What can guests look forward to in the new year?
The company will launch a new website and introduce a new loyalty card which can be used throughout the hotels and the restaurants.