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LANGHAM Hospitality Group (LHG) is on track to expand its portfolio in the Middle East after striking a deal with Dubai-based Omniyat to manage the 167-room Langham Place Downtown Dubai. This marks the group’s second confirmed property in the region, after The Langham, Palm Jumeirah, slated to open in late 2016.
The US$273 million project spans a built-up area of 63.93m2 in the Burj Khalifa district and also comprises of serviced apartments and a luxury hotel, generating a total of 438 units.
Lo Ka Shui, executive chairman of LHG, said in a press conference: “About 90 per cent of our properties are owner-occupied. The project with Omniyat is a management contract as we don’t know the Middle East well and depend on our partners.
“LHG is not a big chain but we have a strong network inside China and a base in Hong Kong. Therefore, we are able to bring in many Chinese customers.”
The group hopes that the partnership with Ominyat will further expand to other areas in the Middle East region. Currently, the group has ongoing projects in Doha, Abu Dhabi, Beirut and Oman.
According to Mahdi Amjad, executive chairman and CEO of Omniyat, the group currently has 1,500 rooms under development across the city. “We’ve doubled our portfolio in the last two to three years while Dubai has doubled its tourist arrivals from five to 10 million. The region attracts more tourists, creating more demand so the city has a vision to further grow its annual visitor numbers to 20 million by 2020.”
