Condotels tipped for Growth in Middle East

Condominium hotels and residential apartments managed by hotels, in the Dubai market in particular, are the next growth sector in the region, according to Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts.

According to Mark Neem, vice president, director of design, construction, engineering and information technology for the hotel group, space is a key issue in the premium sector.

“Architecture does not sell rooms, but size can,” he said. “If you build rooms of between 45 to 55 sq metres, you are set for the future: anyone trying to go one better has to go bigger, but then the economics do not make sense,” he said.

Given this essential building block, Neem said that other trends in hotel design would see more technology, more luxury, and a faster turn-round in restaurant concepts.

“Hotels have to be flexible now, planning for a constant evolution of their product rather than a ‘one size fits all and will last forever’ ethos, and now we have to design by strategy.

“Form follows function in the world of hotels, but in the Middle East region we have traditionally found that this maxim is reversed, with disastrous results. There is an urgent need for more urban planning too, with thought given to the overall look of cities and more ‘elbow’ room around tower buildings,” he said.

For the future, Neem said he expected to see condo hotels become the next trend in the hospitality sector, particularly in cities with high demand such as Dubai. “If these types of hotels were to be built, frequent corporate or even leisure visitors would have access to guaranteed room availability, but make money from rentals when they are not here.

“It’s already happening in cities such as New York, and given the speed of development in Dubai, it would be a natural progression for the hospitality industry here,” he concluded.

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