Women-run hotel to open in Dubai

Time Hotels Management has unveiled plans for a new fourstar hotel in Al Barsha — Time Asma Hotel — which will aim for 80 per cent of team members to be female, led by general manager Ghada Mahgoub, with dedicated facilities for female guests.

The announcement was made at the Arabian Travel Market.

“The concept will provide career opportunities for more than 100 women,” said Time Hotels CEO Mohamed Awadalla.

The property will feature 232 rooms over six floors. Due to open in Q4 2017, plans are in place for two floors of the hotel to be reserved exclusively for female travellers, with dedicated services, including: dedicated room service, a female-only check-in counter, dedicated women-only guest relations, inhouse baby-sitting services, inroom tablets highlighting all of the services offered for women such as bespoke beauty products, in-room beauty treatments.

The Barsha hotel will also offer options to book women-only taxis and female-dedicated parking spaces.

“The hotel will offer a unique experience for women, we want to make them feel special. And that message is also extended to our female staff, we want them to feel special as well, part of an initiative advancing the case for more women in hospitality board rooms,” added Awadalla.

“We see almost equal numbers of male and female graduates leaving hospitality school, but fewer women enter the hotel workforce, which shows the industry must do more to attract and support female professionals and their aspirations for career development,” said Awadalla.