Pearl Rotana at Capital Centre is conveniently situated near Adnec, the national exhibition centre, providing the perfect stay for corporate professionals working in Abu Dhabi in search of both a successful and relaxing business trip. In addition to the prime location, the hotel features ’Club Rotana’ executive floors and lounge, with a host of complimentary benefits.
We spoke to Pearl Rotana general manager Karim Nahas for more:
Can you tell us about the kind of Mice business you receive and if Mice is the most important source of income for the newly launched hotel?
Indeed, the Mice segment is one of the important segments we are targeting at the hotel, primarily due to the hotel’s proximity to Adnec as well as the extensive meeting facilities we offer to guests. I am happy to see that we have hosted many international meetings since the hotel opened in March of this year, as well as many non – residential meetings and training seminars with third parties and corporate companies.
Can you tell us a bit about your distribution?
The hotel has managed to build a very balanced revenue distribution stream across all segments and not only for guests wanting to stay near Adnec. Online business is naturally the biggest share of our business, with around 40 per cent, but we are also seeing the corporate, leisure, Mice and long-term segments producing good numbers so far across a range of nationalities within the UAE, GCC, European and Levant markets.
Please throw light on some of the forward bookings?
The hotel will be busy in Q4 of this year with a few big exhibitions such as Adipec and Formula 1 in November in which the hotel is almost full. December will witness SIAL exhibition and the FIFA world cup in Q1 2019. The hotel is also geared to host many delegations for the Asian Cup, IDEX and Special Olympics.
You have some really nice F&B outlets, can you tell us about them and some ongoing promotions?
The team has worked hard to establish our two signature outlets, Dino’s Bistro Italiano and The Warehouse Tapas Bar, within the local market. I am pleased to see that after a very short time of their opening, both outlets have managed to build a very successful reputation, excellent feedback and most importantly a nice buzz. We have a range of different offers at both venues that are very appealing to our customers as well as ongoing promotions.
Pearl is located alongside Capital Centre Arjaan and Centro Capital Centre, is there any cannibalising of business between the three of you?
The three hotels are representing different Rotana sub-brands: Centro being a three-star affordable option, Arjaan catering primarily for long staying guests and Pearl offering the traditional Rotana experience. We have witnessed demand for the three propositions in the area and we are able to also cater for larger groups and Mice business between the three hotels.
What have been the major challenges this year and what have you learned from them?
The main challenge was the delayed hotel opening, whereby the hotel should have been opened in November 2017, however, we only opened in March 2018. This meant we missed out on the busy winter and exhibitions period and opened the hotel a couple of months before the slow summer season. However, I am pleased to see occupancies on a high increase from mid-August onwards.
No one has a crystal ball but how does 2019 look? Will Expo 2020 positively affect Abu Dhabi as well you think?
I personally think hotels will continue to be challenged to maintain their rates due to the obvious reasons in the region, but we still have healthy occupancies compared to international cities. Expo will definitely be an opportunity for the Abu Dhabi hotels due to the relative proximity to the Expo site. Many visitors would also like to combine the expo with a visit to the new Abu Dhabi attractions such as the Louvre Museum and Warner Bros, which is great for the Abu Dhabi hotel market.