Habtoor City owner says “considerable growth” after Hilton rebrand of hotels

Months after a controversial rebranding of its hotels at Al Habtoor City Marriott to Hilton, owner Al Habtoor Group has said they are on track for “considerable growth”.

The company announced it would be ending a management deal at the development, which includes three luxury hotels with nearly 1,600 rooms, 18 food and beverage outlets and 34 meeting spaces, with Marriott in July.

The St. Regis Dubai, W Dubai Habtoor City and The Westin Dubai Al Habtoor City were subsequently reflagged Habtoor Palace – LXR Hotels and Resorts, V Hotel – Curio Collection by Hilton and Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City respectively.

Read: Hilton to take over management of Dubai Habtoor City hotels from Marriott

No reason was given for the change but Marriott’s CEO president and CEO Arne Sorenson last month described it as “economically logical” and said Habtoor had a “different vision” to the hotel company’s own for the complex, which also hosts the 1,300-seater LA Perle by Dragone aqua show.

Read: Marriott CEO says Dubai hotel exits ‘logical’ but plots return

Al Habtoor Group said in a statement on Sunday it was forecasting “considerable growth in its results and a positive forecast compared to the same period last year”.

“As the year end nears, Al Habtoor City’s hotels are witnessing a very healthy increase in the business ahead of the upcoming holiday season and the first half of 2019 in comparison with the same period of last year, with a double-digit growth in the occupancy rates,” the company added.

Al Habtoor Group founding chairman Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor said he was pleased to see the five-star complex “on the right trajectory”.

Marriott is set to open 11 hotels in the UAE this year alone, bringing its total rooms in the country to 17,000 despite its withdrawal from Al Habtoor City.

Read: Marriott CEO says Dubai hotel exits ‘logical’ but plots return