Luxury hotelier Jumeirah Group has more than doubled its
portfolio since the beginning of 2011 and expects to become a significantly
bigger player among corporate travel buyers as a result.
Known primarily for its luxury hotels in its headquarters
city of Dubai as well as for acquiring such iconic properties as Essex House in
New York and Carlton Tower in London, the company recently has been rapidly
expanding its portfolio, particularly in Europe. Since the beginning of 2011,
when it had only eight properties, Jumeirah has added nine more and is on track
to open four more by year-end. Recent additions include the Grand Hotel Via
Veneto in Rome, the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul and the Grosvenor House
Apartments in London, as well as properties in Frankfurt and Shanghai. Jumeirah
also plans to open a resort in Mallorca later this month. Other properties
slated to open this year include hotels in Kuwait and Baku, Azerbaijan.
As Jumeirah expands, it has held more conversations with
such large corporate buyers as Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, particularly as
it opens properties in major global business centers, said Jumeirah Americas
vice president of sales and marketing Tom Civitano.
"Now we have a multitude of leads, and they have a lot
more business to Frankfurt, Shanghai and Rome than they may have had to Dubai,"
he said. "We're getting a lot more attention and moving up the ladder, and
that particular business within our company is growing significantly."
Jumeirah vice president of Europe and North Africa Derek
Picot said the company's business currently is split about evenly between
corporate and leisure travel. Travelers also are split about evenly between
North America, Europe, the Middle East and the rest of the world, he said.