Dubai: A hotel operator is launching a chain of hotels in Dubai that will offer an allergy-free environment, full digital connectivity and ‘steam-free mirrors' in washrooms — among other benefits, with an average price tag.
Auris Hotel Management, launched in 2008, is opening three new properties, some of which will change the way hotels serve guests, a top official told Gulf News.
Hatem Gasmi, a Tunisian hospitality veteran, has teamed up with a group of investors to roll out Dubai's new home-grown hotel brand, which is expected to leave a lasting impression on customers' minds.
Guests usually can't see their faces after a hot bath due to steam covering mirrors. Most people use towels, tissues or their fingers to clear steam off the mirror to comb their hair.
"Why can't hotels invest in technology to offer better services, improve conditions and comfort? We are going to offer a dust- and allergy free environment in hotel rooms by placing parquet floors that will be cleaned by a specialised cleaning process without recycling the air through the bag which is unhealthy," Gasmi, managing director of Auris Hotel Management, told Gulf News.
"We are installing steam-free mirrors in washrooms that will not block the view despite having a hot shower. We are going to offer those facilities never seen before by the industry."
The company has one set of serviced apartments currently under operation while two are ready to open this month. A fourth property, a five-star one, will be open by the end of this year.
"By the end of this year, we are going to have an inventory of 886 keys, comprising 264 hotel apartments in Al Ghusais, 224 in Dubai Marina, 60 in Al Barsha and 338 rooms and suites in Al Barsha," he said.
Investors have pumped in about Dh850 million in these projects. The company has 200 people under employment. It will hire another 350 before December this year.
Auris joins a number of UAE home-grown hotel chains, such as Jumeirah, Rotana, Coral, Flora, The Address, Emirates Hotels and Resorts, among many others that have taken a significant share of the region's tourism and hospitality market.
"The service offered by these hotels are on a par with the international hotel chains and UAE home-grown chains have already made their mark in serving regional and international tourists," Sudhir Kumar, managing director of Realtors' International, a consultancy, said.
"As Dubai and largely the UAE remains a hot attraction for tourism, the UAE's home-grown hotels will continue to succeed in attracting tourists and in turn grow in to larger hotel chains."
Analysts see more of these brands mushrooming partly due to demand and partly due to the availability of residential supply inventories that, if converted to serviced apartments or hotels, could offer a better return on investment, especially with a depressed real estate market as a backdrop.
Kumar said new supplies in the real estate market will also help the growth of the home-grown brands.
"The new supplies will definitely help the growth of the local hotel chains," he said.
"We are planning to operate 10 hotels by 2015. We are negotiating with some developers for more openings," Gasmi said.
"We want to be perceived in the market as one of the most preferred choice, if not the first. We want guests to come back and refer to others."
The name was chosen from a Latin word that means ‘ear'.
The hotel's service proposition is based on personal attention to customers and adherence to their needs.
