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It plans to open a further 19 hotels in the region over the next three years, including 12 in the UAE, according to Toufic Tamim, Movenpick's Middle East vice-president for sales and marketing.
Asked if he is concerned about overcapacity in the Dubai market, where seven new Movenpick hotels are planned, Toufic said, 'If you were to have asked me this question a year ago I would have said no. If you would have asked me three months ago, I would have said yes.
'Today I would say I am concerned, but it is a medium to short-term thing. Our hotels are opening pretty much early next year, so it is safe to say that we don't have big problems today because we don't have mega supply in the UAE as we have only have one operating hotel (in the country),' he said.
The fact that the Movenpick's new hotels in the region will not be coming online until later this year at the earliest will work to the company's advantage as it would have been much more difficult to open them during a downturn.
'We are hoping that by early next year the current recession will start adjusting. I wouldn't say it will be totally turned around, but start adjusting. So we are confident that we will be opening the hotels in an upturn situation,' he said.
Two of the hotels opening in Dubai will be located on the Palm Jumeirah, others will be located in Deira, Jumeirah Beach and the Laguna area opposite the Dubai Marina, while yet another will be part of Ibn Battuta shopping mall.
No delays
So far, all of Movenpick's new projects in the Middle East are on schedule. 'We have not heard of any delays from our owners. I am sure one or two hotels will be delayed by two or three months, possibly due to contractor delays or financial delays from the owners' side. But so far none of our owners have confirmed any delays,' he said.
Tamim also said that the chain has not had to lay off any employees due to the financial crisis. 'Each of our properties has developed and is following a three-tiered profit protection plan that is tailored to their specific business situation; reducing head count is the final action of these plans and we will investigate all other opportunities to increase revenue or reduce costs before considering this,' he said.
Lebanon leads region
Among the countries where Movenpick operates in the region, the one in which its hotels are performing best is Lebanon.
In the first two months of this year - which is the country's low season - occupancy in the chain's hotel in Beirut climbed to 60%, compared to 45% in the same period last year, while average room rates jumped to $206 compared to $139 in the same time frame last year, Tamim said.
One reason for Lebanon's upsurge is its newfound political stability, but another factor is that GCC travellers are choosing to visit destinations within the region to limit their travel budgets during the downturn. 'Lebanon, Jordan and Cairo all are benefiting from this trend,' Tamim said. 'We expect this summer to be a boom summer for Lebanon, the best it has ever seen.'
Dubai slows down
On the other hand, one of the hardest hit areas has been Dubai, where Movenpick's hotel in the emirate has seen an 8% drop in occupancy and a 15% decline in room rates in the first two months of 2009 compared to the same period last year, Tamim said.
Jeff Florian, Senior Reporter
