A NEW hotel brand, First & Foremost Family Hotels, backed by South African golf legend Ernie Els, has been launched.
An offshoot of First & Foremost Hotels & Resorts, a company based out of the UK and Dubai owned by its managing director, Mike Scully, the new brand aims to provide a point of difference in the family hospitality sector. The first hotel is expected to open in Dubai in 2017 and it eyes development across Europe and Asia depending upon investors.
“To achieve double-digit returns, hotels need to have their point of difference. This can be location, hospitality, entertainment and/or leisure,” said Scully.
“First & Foremost Family Hotels will incorporate all of the above. Combined with the Leading Family Hotels ‘edutainment’ offer – specialising in kids (up to five years old) – this makes us unique. We’re not reliant on school holidays and we can focus on achieving the highest room rates and occupancy levels all year round.”
The hotels will be autism friendly thanks to input from Ernie Els and his foundation Els for Autism. Expertise and the latest systems from The Els Center of Excellence will be utilised to produce highly trained staff.
A “complete family holiday experience” will be a priority at First & Foremost, according to Els. “In addition, we are going to ensure a safe environment for families on the spectrum and also create substantial employment opportunities for adults with autism. Hopefully our lead will encourage other organisations to follow suit.”
Leading Family Hotels is not affiliated to Leading Hotels of the World.
