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Mandarin Oriental charts aggressive growth plan

Group in negotiations across several markets

Mandarin Oriental, the global luxury hospitality major, has laid out aggressive plans for the region, as the Middle East tourism numbers continue to grow.

“We recently completed the rebranding of Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi. We are doing the rebranding of Mandarin Oriental in Riyadh, and there is the imminent opening of that new resort property in Muscat. And next year, we will add a new property in Downtown Dubai. This will continue as new properties continue to come onstream. So for us, the market continues to become increasingly important and our performance continues to improve,” Geoffrey Webb, vice-president, global sales partners of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market.

Mandarin Oriental now operates 38 hotels, 10 residences and 23 exclusive homes in 25 countries and territories.

The group is in advanced negotiation in several other markets in the region. “The success of the new build in Dubai and the phenomenal success with the renovations and rebranding of Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi has improved performance almost exponentially. “So we’re finding that we’re now in a fortunate position of not having to chase deals, but opportunities coming to us,” Webb said.

Mandarin Oriental is focused at the moment on growth in the resort portfolio. “This is an area where we can differentiate ourselves and seek very strong performance. So I would say it’s more around resort focus in the Middle East. Having said that, there are definitely other opportunities that are being explored,” Webb said.