New hotel to be staffed 80% by women
CEO says new property will advance case for having more women in hospitality boardrooms
Time Hotels Management announced yesterday plans for a new four-star hotel in Dubai where 80 per cent of the staff members will be female, with dedicated facilities at the hotel for female guests.
The Time Asma Hotel, which will be located in Al Barsha, is due to open in the fourth quarter of this year.
“The concept will provide career opportunities for more than 100 women, contributing towards goals set out by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to increase the presence of women in the workplace,” said Mohammad Awadallah, chief executive officer of Time Hotels.
Awadallah said the hotel will advance the case for having more women in hospitality boardrooms as women continue to be under-represented in the hospitality industry especially in senior management positions.
Need to do more
“We see almost equal numbers of male and female graduates leaving hospitality school, but fewer women enter in the hotel workforce, which shows the industry must do more to attract and support female professionals and their aspirations for career development,” the CEO said.
He was speaking at a press conference at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM).
The new property will have two floors reserved exclusively for female travellers, and will have services that include a female-only check-in counter, female-only guest relations, and babysitting services, among others. The hotel will also offer its guests femaleonly parking spaces.
The hotel is also aiming to capitalise on growth in women’s spending and the increase in the number of solo female travellers. Women reportedly make around 80 per cent of all decisions concerning travel and spend more than $125 billion every year on travel.
Away from this property, Time is scheduled to open new properties over the coming 10 months in Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Luxor, Riyadh, Jeddah and Doha.