HMH All Set to Boost Its Existing Portfolio of Hotels by 20 Per Cent in 2014

AL BARSHA, UAE - March 2, 2014 - PRLog -- Group's New CEO Laurent A. Voivenel Unveils Strategy for Growth Focusing on Home Turf UAE

Laurent A. Voivenel took over as the CEO of HMH – Hospitality Management Holdings merely three and a half months ago. During this period he has been busy mapping out 2014 for HMH.
He explains, “My philosophy is to start by understanding what our capabilities are and then finding the best opportunities. HMH is a fantastic organization to do business with and has tremendous potential for growth. We have diverse brands, presence in some of the most promising destinations in the MENA region, highly experienced and talented people and exceptional products and service - all of which differentiate us in a unique way in the market place. The group has come a long way from its modest beginning in 2003. It is an exciting challenge for me to take up the reins at this momentous moment when the organisation has just completed ten eventful years since its formation and lead it into the next decade. It is now time to consolidate and accelerate. I look forward to building on to the great work done so far and steering HMH toward greater success”.

Since Laurent took the helm at HMH, he has set a new tone for the company's future that is evident from his strategy for the group. He is definitely not in a rush and wants to take steady steps saying, “I believe if something seems not under control, you are going too fast. Therefore, we would be focusing more on value over volume.”

Not surprisingly, the 54-year-old seasoned hotelier exudes a calm almost unflappable air, and is seen as a safe pair of hands with a long to-do list that aims to drive a single mission for HMH: ‘We say, we do’. He knows all the tricks of the trade with an in-depth understanding of hospitality business having spent over 28 years in the industry with legendary hotel chains such as Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Hilton Hotels & Resorts that took him to some of the most fascinating and challenging destinations across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East (Cannes and Paris in France; French Polynesia; Honolulu, Hawaii; Okinawa, Japan; Tahiti, Manama, Bahrain; Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia; Aqaba, Jordan; Brummana in Lebanon; Dubai, UAE; etc).

“First and foremost, we want to listen and learn from our customers. It is absolutely critical to ‘Give customers what they want’. You have got to be anticipating what the customer is going to value in the future and how the competitors are improving. Our business is all about finding and delivering what people value”.

Laurent believes 2014 holds good prospects for HMH. “It will be strongly marked by strengthening our executive team, sharpening our brand image, developing new multi-lingual websites, launching new loyalty programmes and opening four new properties. As we embark on rolling out these strategic initiatives, continued fiscal discipline, superior service and quality control remain central to our objectives. We will work closely with the various departments to establish a new, fully integrated system to boost productivity and are confident that the direction we have chosen is the best way forward for the desired progress and growth. We are redirecting resources to areas where we have identified opportunities to create value with greater local relevance. Let us put it this way, it is not a revolution but an evolution bearing in mind customers' expectations. The buzzwords at HMH in 2014 will be proactive, strategic, innovative, collaborative and integrative".

-How many hotels do you operate?
HMH – Hospitality Management Holdings is a fully-integrated hotel management company with four diverse brands namely The Ajman Palace, Coral Hotels & Resorts, Corp Executive Hotels and EWA Hotel Apartments. The group prides itself on being the first hotel chain in the Middle East to offer alcohol-free safe environment. When developers consider our hotel management company for their asset, they know HMH will deliver for ‘We say, we do’. Our existing portfolio features 20 properties, under the various brands as well as a healthy pipeline of hotels under development.

-What are your occupancy rates at the three hotel brands?
2013 was a very good year and we have got very happy owners. All our properties have done exceedingly well in terms of occupancy and RevPar particularly in countries such as the UAE and KSA. Other destinations like Baghdad, Amman, Beirut, Khartoum, Port Sudan, etc too did pretty well with seasonal dips depending on the market conditions often determined by political situation in the region. We do very well when it is calm and not so well when it not calm. With a little bit more stability we could have done better. If you look at the GOP, all our brands are in the same bracket. However, as we have more Coral hotels, the percentage of business is much higher for Coral.

For more information about HMH please visit http://www.hmh-dubai.com

For media contact:

Hina Bakht
Vice President
MPJ (Marketing Pro-Junction)
Mob: +971 50 6975146
Email: h.bakht@mpj-pr.com
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