Recently Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts took over a luxurious resort on Mauritius and now announces a total of five new projects in Dubai (UAE) as well as on the tropical island of Zanzibar (Tanzania), putting the Swiss international hotel chain well on course towards achieving its expansion objectives. The hotel group has been steadily expanding over the past five years, and very soon it will have more than doubled its capacity compared with 1999 (35 hotels and 7’400 rooms): indeed by the end of 2007 the portfolio will comprise a total of 73 hotels and more than 19’000 rooms.
At present Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts comprises 53 hotels and over 12’000 rooms in 19 countries, with no fewer than 20 signed projects currently either at the planning phase or under construction.
Growth in the Middle East has been particularly strong, in keeping with the group’s policy of vigorous expansion based on management contracts. More than 20 owners in this region have enabled and sustained this rapid growth. In Dubai (United Arab Emirates) alone seven Mövenpick Hotels are to be completed over the next two years. Over that same period four other hotels are scheduled for completion in El Obour (Egypt), Sana'a (Yemen), Doha (Qatar) and Al Khobar (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).
In Europe new hotels are already under construction in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Stuttgart (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Rome (Italy). In Africa two interesting new destinations are added to the portfolio, with the take over of the Voile d’Or Resort on Mauritius and a management contract for a further holiday resort recently signed on Zanzibar (Tanzania).
More than 7’000 new rooms are therefore set to complement the hotel chain’s portfolio. And numerous management contracts are about to be signed at carefully selected destinations, focusing on the core markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Yet Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is not all about expansion; many of the group’s activities focus on existing establishments in a bid to offer the same high standards of comfort to guests worldwide. With its business hotels and holiday resorts the hotel group has clearly positioned itself in the 4-star and 5-star sector, and in keeping with its motto of “True Excellence in Swiss Hospitality” it is fully committed to offering uncompromisingly high standards of product and service quality. The new brand communication has now been implemented at virtually all the hotels, establishing a modern and consistent brand identity. The rebranding campaign has in fact entailed a great deal of renovation work. Current examples include the extensive refurbishment projects at the Mövenpick Hotel Zürich-Airport (Switzerland), the Mövenpick Hotel & Casino Geneva (Switzerland) and the Mövenpick Hotel Münster (Germany).
Many of the group’s existing hotels are also being extended in the wake of these resounding successes. This year for instance the Mövenpick Resort & Spa El Gouna (Egypt) added 115 new rooms and suites as well as new spa and wellness facilities. At the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea (Jordan) an extensive expansion of the facilities is also in progress.
“What’s particularly pleasing is that our growth is founded on a very sound financial basis”, explains Pascal Voyame, Senior Vice President Finance & Controlling. “Over the past few years Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has been able to show positive operating results combined with growing returns to our shareholders, in spite of continued and rising efforts to grow our presence in new countries.”
“Thanks to our experienced and tried-and-tested management team, continuity has been a key feature of our expansion strategy,” says Jean Gabriel Pérès, President & CEO. “Based on our current expansion pace our number of hotels will grow to 100 by 2009 but we shall always privilege the satisfaction of our guests and the return on investment for our shareholders and owners to quantitative growth.”
