Jumeirah International, the Dubai-based luxury hospitality group behind theJumeirah Beach and the Burj Al Arab hotels, has announced plans for rapid worldwide expansion focusing on destinations served by Emirates Airlines.
Bill Walshe, Jumeirah'schief sales and marketing officer,said thatover the next five years the group was looking to open 40 new hotels in a mixture of resort and city locations.
"We will start by targeting capital locations, most likely ones served by Emirates Airlines, as well as cities necessary to become a credible world force, such asNew York,Paris,Sydney, andTokyo."
Speaking to Business Traveller, Walshe accepted that it would be a challenge to maintain service levels in the new hotels, which will be run under management contracts, but he insisted that the group would not "shy away from moving outside our traditional operating base ofDubai".
The group is re-branding all but one of its existing eightLondon andDubai properties with the Jumeirah name, so that the Emirates Towers Hotel inDubai for example will becomeJumeirah Emirates Towers and the Lowndes Hotel inLondon is now the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel.
The group's landmark Burj Al Arab inDubai, however, will not take on the Jumeirah branding.
"The Burj al Arab will always be displayed in conjunction with the brand, and will be endorsed by the hotel group, but as the most famous hotel in the world, it is something more than just a hotel," explained Walshe.
"It is likeDubai's Sydney Opera House and the identification it has forDubai as a destination is bigger than any brand."