Roda Hotels is embarking on an iconic project that it sees will bring lustre to Dubai's historic district of Deira its top official says.

The company which started two years ago as the hospitality arm of Dubai International Real Estate or DIRE is riding high since its inception and has many projects in the pipeline to boost its portfolio in coming years.

"In the first two years we have been extremely lucky due to the excellent services and location; we have achieved 85 per cent occupancy at our two properties in Jumeirah Beach Residence" Imad W. Elias chief executive officer of Roda Hotels told Khaleej Times in an interview.

Roda Hotels' vision according to Elias is to manage and do technical services for all of DIRE's projects namely Jewel of the Creek a complex in Garhoud near Al Bustan Rotana and a new project in Jumeirah next to Meraas and the canal.

"Of these Jewel of the Creek will be very aptly Roda Hotels' crown jewel. The Dh4 billion mega development will be completely operated by Roda Hotels with different brands and will shine a new light in Deira" Elias said.

He said the landmark project will revive the old Deira and the Creek and it will be a great hub for people living near the Creek Mirdif Garhoud Deira and those coming from Sharjah and the Northern Emirates.

"The first phase is about 80 per cent complete which is seeing the development of the island on the creekone of the longest swimming pool inthe world a five-star hotel luxury one- two- and three-bedroom apartments a marina and waterfront consisting of 20 restaurants" he said.

To a question he said the cost for 400-metre lagoon is in excess of Dh25 million and will be ready for use in late 2017. "The idea was to create an attractive and unique destination and a town centre lagoon will be one of its kind feature in the region" he said.

About phase two he said it is 25 per cent done and comprises two towers of an Andalusian-Arabian Islamic hotela fashion inspired four-star hotel and a three-star plug-and-play hotel plus the "Dubai Dome" which will have a multi-purpose hall.

"The next phase will be for residential and office units; it is only 10 per cent complete" he said adding that the development will feature a car park for 6000 vehicles.

Elias said phase one will "definitely" finish and be opened in August 2017 with the rest coming online every year after - in time for Expo 2020 in Dubai. "All our hotels. will open just before 2020 to start training in order to have innovative superior services. We are working for the future" he added.

To a question he said Roda Hotels will be managing more than 4500 room keys following the completion of all its projects by 2018.

"We have over 4000 room under development in approximately 12 projects" he said.

Focus on human resources

Roda Hotels will begin hiring 2000 employees for Jewel of the Creek beginning early this year. Elias believes in the importance of its workforce; with "tremendous" competition everywhere it is critical that quality standards have to be maintained by its staff.

"We will be engaging in recruiting hotel graduates from around the world and those from countries where the sector is very good such as East Europe and Asia" he said.

Roda Hotels is also very keen on having a minimum of 25 per cent national and UAE staff and not only that the company is also determined on setting up a school to improve the skills of national staff.

"A school for UAE nationals is already in the pipeline. we are only waiting for permission from authorities and an association with an international hotel school in Switzerland" Elias added.

Challenges expansion

Roda Hotels sees 2016 to be a difficult year in terms of stability in the Middle East owing to geopolitical and market issues. Dubai and the UAE however have its own distinct advantage.

"We believe Dubai and the UAE enjoy a very secure environment but when we look around us. parts of the Middle East have issues Europe has issues but we believe we must be vigilant; we have to be careful and select clientele and not to go into mass tourism like other countries" Elias stressed.

He is also optimistic on the overall real estate sector.

"We also believe recovery will start in late-2017 and in 2018-19 there will be huge construction projects because of preparations for Expo 2020 and we believe all our projects will open for the Expo" Elias said.

For expansion plans Elias says that Roda Hotels will "no doubt always focus that 80 per cent of its business is within the UAE" with the remaining coming from the GCC and other international markets. He added that there are discussions for a project in Saudi Arabia though nothing has been signed yet.

"Our prime focus is to develop existing projects and deliver new standards in hospitality industry before replicating the same business model in other countries in the region" he said.

He also stressed the need for providing more affordable hotels to customers in the emirate.

"Frankly speaking we believe in three- and four-star hotels so that Dubai will become more affordable for everyone; Dubai has too many five-star hotels" he said.

Elias is confident that Dubai has the potential to attract 15 to 20 million tourists by 2020 thanks to its travel connections infrastructure and government support. And Roda Hotels wants to play a major role in it.

"I believe Roda Hotels is the future because of our innovative ideas and great knowledge of the market believing and maintaining quality standards" Elias said.

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