Monday, May 09, 2016

Dubai: India’s Lemon Tree Hotels plans to expand into the Gulf region to capitalise on demand for three-star and four-star hotels.

The company, with 29 hotels in India, aims to have at least eight hotels signed in the UAE in the next three years, with at least one targeted to be under operation by December this year, according to Rattan Keswani, the company’s Deputy Managing Director.

The hotels, which will be a mix of new and converted properties, will be branded under the upscale Lemon Tree Premier, the midscale Lemon Tree Hotels, and the economy brand Red Fox Hotel.

“Dubai and Abu Dhabi are developing exponentially, the infrastructure keeps evolving, we see the government [in Dubai] focus its attention on the midscale [segment],” Keswani told Gulf News by phone.

The hotel chain has signed an agreement with Raine & Horne, an Australian real estate franchise group, to be its representative in the Gulf region.

Lemon Tree Hotels will initially focus on having a presence in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with areas of interest including Jebel Ali, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Business Bay, Yas Island, Reem Island and Saadiyat Island, according to Sanjay Chimnani, Managing Director of Raine & Horne in Dubai.

After the UAE, Lemon Tree Hotels hopes to enter Saudi Arabia and Qatar, he said.

“There are no firm plans for Saudi and Qatar; if we get a reasonable foothold in the UAE and establish active relationships, that would be the right time to head to those other markets,” Chimnani said.

The company has 1,500 rooms currently under development and aims to have 20,000 owned rooms and 20,000 managed rooms by 2022, it said in a statement.

By Sarah Algethami Staff Reporter

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