MÖVENPICK Hotels & Resorts raised interest for the four new business hotels it will open in the next two years at the Business Travel Show Middle East 2010.
Toufic Tamim, vice president sales and marketing – Middle East, said the timing of the show is perfect, coinciding with an anticipated future upturn in corporate travel and the company’s regional expansion.
“The Business Travel Show has been a great platform for us to showcase our business hotels to an important group of hosted buyers and visitors. We have had more than 28 meetings in the first day alone, justifying our return on investment,” he said.
Participating hotels were evenly spread across the region, covering the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Lebanon.
And the hotel company also highlighted its quartet of new business hotels which are coming on stream during 2010 and 2011. These include the recently opened Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel, Mövenpick Hotel Deira, the five-star Mövenpick Hotel & Residence Jumeirah Lakes Towers and the Mövenpick Hotel Riyadh.
Speaking on performance over the last year, Tamim said that while the corporate segment has yet to reach 2008 figures, business is definitely back and 2010 so far has witnessed a 10 per cent increase in business over 2009.
“Saudi Arabia and Lebanon have been the two key markets driving this growth. Otherwise it’s been a year of odds. With summer and Ramadan overlapping, business was affected in the UAE but markets like Lebanon and Saudi Arabia performed exceptionally well. Likewise, the winter months proved very successful in the GCC, while business slowed in Lebanon,” he said.
“Looking ahead in 2011, the focus will be on the opening of our new properties in Dubai as well as securing our market share for the long summer months ahead.”
The group will also roll out its new loyalty programme ‘Circle M’ across the GCC, offering guests special room rates and discounts on food and beverage offerings at all the Middle East properties.