Accor, Europe's biggest hotel operator, is planning to step up the growth of its network of budget Ibis hotels in the UAE and wider region as part of a €150 million (Dh760m) global initiative.
The French-based company this week announced plans to divide its Ibis hotels into three separate brands, allowing Accor to explore franchise opportunities in the region.
"It will help us to develop even further our product," said Christophe Landais, the managing director of Accor, Middle East, explaining that was partly because the Ibis name was already well known in the region.
The company is considering introducing the new Ibis Styles name, which would generally involve rebranding an existing property, rather than developing a new hotel.
Ibis Styles will replace Accor's All Seasons brand, which has not had a presence in the region. The third brand is the Ibis Budget brand, which replaces the company's Etap Hotel marque.
Dubai has seen an influx of inexpensive hotels in recent years, including new Citymax properties, Holiday Inn Express, and Rotana's Centro. There is also an easyHotel at Jebel Ali, which charges rates of Dh99 (US$29) a night.
Industry insiders say these properties have helped to close a gap in the market for cheaper hotels and enabled Dubai to appeal to different types of travellers, rather than just the luxury market.
The rise of low-cost airlines in the region, such as flydubai, has also contributed to increasing the numbers of budget visitors to the UAE, said Mr Landais, adding it was too early to place a number on how many hotels it could develop in these arrangements.
"It's quite new for us as well, so now we need to estimate what the potential of the market is and what the interest of family-owned hotels are," he said.
"There is more opportunity. Now we need to assess and quantify those opportunities."
But Dubai and Abu Dhabi were not yet ready for the Ibis Budget brand, he said.
This brand has much smaller rooms, is about 20 to 30 per cent cheaper than a standard Ibis hotel in terms of room rates and is normally built from scratch to meet the standards of the brand. The Ibis Budget brand was comparable with easyHotel, said Mr Landais.
"The market in Dubai has moved tremendously in the last six to seven years … and we have seen a lot of economy hotels coming up.
"Now to go lower than that, we have to see if the market is ready for it. Is it possible in terms of return on investment for the investors, considering the cost of land?"
rbundhun@thenational.ae
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PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
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Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
65
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Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
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MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Marseille 0
Atletico Madrid 3
Greizmann (21', 49'), Gabi (89')
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Law%2041.9.4%20of%20men%E2%80%99s%20T20I%20playing%20conditions
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Mobile phone packages comparison
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber