City Seasons Face to Face
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Q: What is the background to City Seasons? How many properties do you have and what is the brand’s ethos?A: City Seasons Group of Hotels is a division of the Bin Ham Group based in Al Ain. We own and operate four properties in key city locations in the UAE - City Seasons Suites Dubai, City Seasons Hotel Dubai, City Seasons Hotel Al Hamra Abu Dhabi and City Seasons Hotel Al Ain. We will be opening our first international property in Muscat, Oman towards the end of 2010. This will be the second largest hotel in Muscat, complete with its own shopping mall. The brand ‘strap line’ is ‘Hospitality for all Seasons’ and we offer the combination of warm Arabian hospitality, international standards and value-for-money accommodation that is ideal for families and business travellers alike. Q: What are your plans to expand the brand and how will you put City Seasons on the map?A: There are three new hotels already under development in the UAE with estimated completion dates in 2012. We are also looking at developing hotel management contracts - all our hotels are currently owner operated. We have been in discussions regarding potential management contracts in the Middle East and Europe and hope to be announcing some details in the next couple of months.As for putting the brand on the map I am a firm believer in a strong PR and communications strategy so have initiated various PR activities to support the efforts of our marketing and sales teams. I describe our hotels as ‘sleeping beauties’ and what is needed is a marketing strategy to awaken them. We are also signing contracts with key European, Middle East and Asian tour operators to develop close relationships with a few key players. Q: What are your plans to market City Seasons to both trade and consumers and in what markets and why?A: The travel trade are very important supporters of City Seasons, which is why we have chosen Travel Daily Middle East as one of our key marketing vehicles. We recently appointed a strong sales team for the local market, and are working closely with agents and DMCs moving groups around the region. We market to consumers by raising brand awareness and events such as the upcoming FIFA World Cup where we will be offering viewing opportunities to guests.We also support local events and charities.Q: What type of clients does City Seasons suit and from what source markets?A: The City Seasons client base is business focussed due to the city centre locations of the properties. The Dubai properties are popular with all markets including Europeans as we are within walking distance to the Dubai Metro and directly across the road from Deira City Centre Shopping & Entertainment Complex. The City Seasons Suites Dubai is proving to be very popular with expatriate and local families from the GCC in particular as it offers large suites with one- or two-bedroom facilities. The service and the facilities are those of a five-star property, but value for money is also important to our brand proposition.A City Seasons Group snapshot
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