viability presentation about growth of boutique hotels in dubai 10 05 15

www.viability.ae …when diligence is due

Hozpitality Business Networking Event, 10/05/15 The Growth of Boutique/Lifestyle Hotel Brands in Dubai Moderator: Guy Wilkinson, Viability Management Consultants


Viability Management Consultants

•  Hospitality and real estate development consultancy •  Established in 2006 •  Principals have consulted in every country in the Middle East

except Iraq, as well as many in Africa •  Significant experience in UAE & GCC •  Specialized in providing:

–  Bankable feasibility studies –  Market studies in a variety of hospitality-related sectors –  Operator selection and contract negotiations –  Operational reviews and interim management solutions

•  Reputation for high-quality, detailed, realistic advice

“Truly an expert consulting company.” “…a most valuable contribution to our knowledge base.” “All responses from Viability were exceptionally prompt and pertinent.”


Definitions from the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association (BLLA)

•  “Boutique hotels are typically small hotels that o!er high levels of service. They often provide authentic cultural or historical experiences and interesting services to guests. Boutique hotels are unique.” (Up to 100 rooms)

•  “Lifestyle hotels tend to be small to medium sized hotels that provide innovative features and service. They tend to have contemporary design features. They provide highly personalized service that di!erentiates them from larger hotel brands.” (Up to 300 rooms)


Target Market: Gen Y as per BLLA

•  “(It is a) generation that has grown up with travel as a right rather than a privilege. The way they use technology is an extension of who they are – sociable, confident, well-informed and open-minded.

•  “On the other side of the coin, having a virtual world of information at their fingertips has made them the most impatient, advertising-skeptic, buyer-aware public ever known.

•  “Generation Y is considered to be the least loyal to hotel brands when compared to all other generational groups. They are also most emotional and least satisfied.”


David Collins, in his book, The New Hotel:

•  “It is snobbery, pure and simple, but the fact remains that it is the o!er of exclusivity,

the guarantee that a hotel is more imaginative and aspirational than others in its design that marks out the territory of the new hotel.”


Boutique Movement Pioneer Ian Shrager re Morgans:

•  “We conceived our company as being an anti-brand, not being generic, not being institutional. There is something wrong when you stay at a hotel in Los Angeles and it is exactly the same hotel as when you go to London or Miami. A hotel should give a sense of time and place.

•  “The hotels in the USA are predicated on the mass-market model. There was a virtue in everything being the same. There was a virtue in coming up with an idea and ‘cookie-cutting’ it across the country. Those of us who are old enough may remember the Holiday Inn advertisement from a few years ago that said, ‘The best surprise is no surprise.’

•  “For me, there is nothing better than a good surprise when you go into a hotel and can have fun there. Treat a hotel as more than just a place to sleep – a place for somebody to have fun, a visual feast.”


Classic Schrager/Starck Boutique Hotel: St Martin’s Lane, London


Storytelling through Boutique Hotel Design: Radisson Sonya Hotel, St. Petersburg


Sonya Corridor


The Middle East’s First Boutique Hotel: Albergo, Beirut


Le Gray, Beirut


Armani Dubai (2010)


Vida Downtown Dubai (2006)


Beit Al Bahar (1999)


Al Maha (1999)


Hues Boutique Hotel, Deira


Reflections Hotel, Jaddaf (2014)


XVA Gallery, Bastakiya (2003)


W/Westin/St Regis Hotel & Dubai Canal (2015)


Palazzo Versace Dubai, Culture Village (2015)


Marriott Autograph Lapita Hotel (2016)


Bvlgari Hotel at Jumeirah Bay Island (2017)


Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Dubai, Pearl Jumeira (2016)


ME by Meliá Dubai @ The Opus (2016)


Damac Towers by Paramount Hotels & Resorts, Business Bay (2016)


Thanks for listening – let’s talk!


Contact Viability Management Consultants

Guy Wilkinson Managing Partner Viability Management Consultants PO Box 191234 Dubai United Arab Emirates Email: [email protected] Mobile: +971 50 450 6276 Tel: +971 4 344 3734 Fax: +971 4 344 0907 Web site: www.viability.ae

viability presentation about growth of boutique hotels in dubai 10 05 15

Real Estate

new hotel

larger hotel brands

small hotels

rooms lifestyle hotels

medium sized hotels

personalized service

best surprise

good surprise