The UAE’s City Seasons Group visited ITB for the first time this year with recently appointed group general manager Thomas Tapken aiming to bring visitors up-to-date on a range of new developments.
Established in 2004 by Sheikh Musallam Salem Bin Ham of the Bin Ham Group, City Seasons Group currently owns and operates four hotel and suite properties in the UAE, with a luxury five-star hotel and shopping mall due to open in Muscat, Oman, late this year as well as three further hotel projects under development in the UAE.
Strategically positioned in city centre locations, City Seasons Hotels are firm value-for-money, four-star properties with five-star service, targeting the business and leisure traveller both regionally and internationally,” said Tapken.
Recognising the need for a structured approach to future growth, CEO Sheikh Mussalam appointed seasoned hotelier Tapken in November 2009, to establish the foundations for growth and spearhead international development.
“Even during the past year of economic challenges, the City Seasons Group has achieved a respectable occupancy rate of 82 per cent with average room rates around Dh420 ($114), reflecting the market’s continued interest in solid four-star properties. We are not seeking to change the business model, but to further develop it within the UAE and internationally,” said Tapken.
The group operates the popular City Seasons Hotel and City Seasons Suites in Dubai, directly adjacent to the City Centre shopping and entertainment complex. Both properties boast enviable year-round occupancies, as does the recently refurbished City Seasons Hotel Al Ain.
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Tapken…expansion plans |
Tapken is overseeing the addition of two new restaurant concepts in the Al Ain property as well as the current renovation of the City Seasons Al Hamra Hotel, Abu Dhabi which has been extended and renovated with the first 180 rooms now completed and operational and a further 114 to be ready by the third quarter of 2010, bringing the total to 300 rooms and suites by the end of 2010. Total investment in the project has been Dh80 million to date.
The Group’s Oman hospitality, retail and leisure development consists of a five-star, 380-room hotel within a shopping mall and entertainment complex which is currently being developed by the hotel owners. City Seasons Muscat will be the second largest hotel in the city and is due to open by the end of 2010.
Tapken added: “City Seasons Group is a firmly established UAE hospitality chain with the ability to develop steadily according to its business plan. We are also looking at acquisition of international properties as well as the development of a management company to further broaden the reach of the group and have a very exciting year ahead of us.”