Citymax Hotels expands, to open Fujairah hotel by 2018
Company looking to open fourth Dubai hotel by then; also eyeing Abu Dhabi property through a joint venture
Citymax Hotels is undergoing an aggressive expansion at present, which will see themid- market hotel brand open its first hotel in Fujairah and a new one in Dubai, according to Russel Sharpe, chief operating officer.
The hotels are expected to open in late 2017 or early 2018, Sharpe told Gulf News in a phone interview yesterday. He, however, declined to say where exactly these will be located. “These will be owned and operated by us,” Sharpe said.
The mid- market hotel group is also setting its sights on Abu Dhabi, where it is looking to have one property through a joint venture, he said.
Citymax Hotels, which has three properties in Al Barsha, Bur Dubai and Sharjah, announced in August that it will add another tower at Citymax Al Barsha, and open two hotels, one each in Dubai’s Business Bay and Ras Al Khaimah. The new hotels will add 700 rooms to the company’s portfolio, bringing the total to 2,500 by the time they open.
The new 120- room tower at the company’s Al Barsha property is likely to open next year, while the Ras Al Khaimah and Business Bay hotels are expected to open in late 2016 and mid 2017, respectively, Sharpe said. Construction of the Ras Al Khaimah hotel is already underway, while work on Citymax Al Barsha’s new tower is “about to start”, and the Business Bay property later this year, he added.
“[ The three properties] will more than double our revenue,” he said.
Outside UAE
Meanwhile, Citymax is considering expanding outside the UAE. It is looking to have hotels in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and East Africa, either through acquisitions or joint ventures.
The company’s net profit for the previous fiscal year ending July 2014 had grown by 20 per cent compared to the previous year, Sharpe said. He expects net profit for the current fiscal year to grow“in double digits”, without divulging exact numbers.
Sharpe said that Citymax’s hotels posted a “90 per cent” occupancy rate during the first half of 2014, and expects the rate to stand at “over 90 per cent” during the second half of the year, driven by increased number of visitors in Dubai attending exhibitions and taking part in Eid Al Adha festivities.
Citymax is among other mid- market hotel groups that plan to expand in the Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC) countries.
UK- based Premier Inn plans to open 14 hotels in the GCC over the next three years, it announced in April this year. Darroch Crawford, the company’s managing director, said it aims to open at least 30 hotels in the GCC by 2020.