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Dubai's Emaar Properties sees budget hotels, e-commerce sales boom

Xinhua, April 17, 2017 Adjust font size:

Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) biggest developer Emaar Properties said here on Monday at the annual general meeting that the group's budget hotel segment "Rove" is among the fastest growing business segments and that sales through digital channels are advancing as well.

Addressing Emaar's shareholders on Monday evening, Alabbar said "I am happy to share with you that our hotel segment Rove became a success story of the company."

Emaar runs three Rove hotels in Dubai and plans to add another seven until 2020, the year when the Gulf Arab sheikhdom will host World Expo (a first in the Arab world).

Alabbar said "the budget hospitality sector is not only growing fast in our home market UAE, but we see similar developments in other countries like India, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain or Egypt. That is why we believe in expanding this segment."

In the past, Emaar, the developer of the world's tallest building Burj Khalifa (829 meter) focused mostly on the affluent traveler with its five-star luxury hotel chain.

At the meeting, the Emaar chairman also said "We witness strong demand in sales through our e-commerce channels."

Digital sales were not only rising in hotel bookings, but in all segments like residential and commercial property, said Alabbar.

"We want to be most customer-centric, that is why we decided to expand sales through digital channels and our affordable hotel portfolio," said Alabbar.

The 60-year old Emaar chairman is regarded a leading spokesperson of "corporate Dubai" and a close confident of UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

Emaar (Arabic for "architectural development") is the bellwether share on the local stock exchange Dubai financial market. Its market capitalization rose between 2012 and 2017 3.3-fold to 51 billion dirham (13.90 billion dollar) nowadays. Endit