Michel Noblet, President and CEO of the group, said, “Despite all the hiccups — first the global economic recession and now the Middle East political crisis — we will have 50 hotels operational before the end of the year and several of these will be unveiled during the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in May. We are extremely pleased to reach this milestone as until now most of the hotels were only on the drawing board but today they stand ready to welcome their first guests.”
The opening of new hotels this year will add approximately 2,400 rooms to HMH’s portfolio which is nearly 40 per cent more than the group’s existing supply. Since its formation in 2003, HMH has developed several successful new brands including Coral Hotels and Resorts, Corp Executive Hotel Apartments, EWA Hotel Apartments and ECOS Hotels. It has a pipeline of more than 100 hotels in the Middle East and Africa.“The Middle East has an incredible ability to bounce back. Travellers have an enduring love affair with countries such as Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and we hope things will get back to normal soon in order for business to continue as usual.”However, Coral Hotels and Resorts continues to lead the group’s growth in the region and out of the 10 projects lined up for announcement during ATM, seven belong to the Coral brand. Another strong contributor to the HMH portfolio is Corp Executive Hotels that has given the group a significant lead in the GCC with three hotels operational and three under development.Michel said, “The upcoming hotels in our portfolio will give us stronger presence in key business and leisure destinations in the Middle East particularly the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Qatar and Oman.Michel remains upbeat about the market conditions. “We continue to see exciting development opportunities and believe the time is right for consolidation, growth and expansion. We have confidence that the economy and hotel sector is on a strong rebound track. I am glad to see the diversification we have now in terms of hotel categories. Before we only saw the deluxe five-star segment in the market. Today we have a mid-market and budget segment coming, so it makes the destinations more appealing and affordable.“The Middle East has an incredible ability to bounce back. Travellers have an enduring love affair with countries such as Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and we hope things will get back to normal soon in order for business to continue as usual.”
