Dubai Hotel Travel

M&C today announced 3 agreements to manage hotels totaling just over 800 guest rooms in key markets including Riyadh, Doha and its first property in Amman.

“The hotels in Riyadh and Amman will be Millennium Hotels, while Doha will be Millennium Executive Apartments. These agreements and our current Development pipeline confirms that introducing a combination of new brands in to the portfolio and focusing on new markets, such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq,Yemen, Egypt and Libya was the right strategy for our aggressive expansion plan. We wanted to have 30 hotels under contract by the end of the year and we are well on our way to achieving that.” confirmed Ali Hamad Lakhraim, President & CEO, Milennium & Copthorne Middle East Holdings LTD.

This dynamic hospitality group manages its network of properties through four key global brands: Grand Millennium, Millennium, Copthorne and Kingsgate.

Studio M is the latest addition to M&C’s portfolio of brands and underscores the? Group’s commitment to expanding its offering in order to appeal to the diverse require-ments of travelers. The Studio M brand aims to offer both style and functionality to the well-travelled guest who relishes the urban contemporary lifestyle and demands access to fuss-free integrated technology and high connectivity. A focus on elegantly restrained accommodation that offers a high degree of connectivity will set Studio M apart from current offerings.

“Studio M opened its doors in Singapore earlier this year and we feel the local market is ready for a new and unique limited proposition which may not have been the case two years ago. The concept of smart business travel is evolving and there is an increasing demand from this largely untapped market segment that craves a distinctive and unique experience from their hotel, even as they demand functional services like wireless connectivity. Studio M, will fill this gap.”added Lakhraim.

Grand Millennium, the flagship brand, epitomizes the very best in elegance and luxury with outstanding décor and world class facilities, was launched in 2007 with its first de-but in Malaysia.

“The Grand Millennium has gone from strength to strength with the 5th property opening later this year in Abu Dhabi, Grand Millennium Al Wahda.” Lakhraim noted. We have had great success with the Grand Millennium and we believe that we can leverage our know how and experience with this brand to launch our latest addition to our portfolio, which is the Biltmore.”

M&C Hotels purchased the Biltmore hotel in 2001 and M&C undertook a $ 10 million refurbishment of the hotel. This landmark was built in the 1920s in California by local business men who wanted to make a statement to the world that their city of Los An-geles had arrived. It was coined the host of the coast and it was the center of events, from the Oscars, Grammys, Olympics and Presidential inaugurations.

Expanding on the Biltmore, Ali Hamad said, “The Biltmore epitomizes how a great hotel can fulfill and express the aspirations of an emerging city. This hotel is not just brick and mortar but is part of the social fabric of its city and we believe that the Biltmore will have great success in this region.”

Tarek El Sherif, Regional Director of Sales & Marketing added, “The Biltmore will have the advantage of a having a full service marketing function to promote its assets across the board as well as having bespoke marketing strategies based on the property, owner and location. Our team of experts are made up of experts from diverse backgrounds such as architecture, interior design, communication and event management that all have one goal – to drive business to the Biltmore and we believe that this brand will be an exciting contributor to the hospitality industry in this region.”

For more information and reservations, customers can book at www.millenniumhotels.com.

Millennium and Copthorne Middle East Holding Ltd. is a dynamic global group, which owns, asset manages and/or operates over 120 hotels in 19 countries around the world. Millennium Ho-tels and Resorts comprises five distinct brands – Grand Millennium, Millennium Hotels, Cop-thorne Hotels, Kingsgate Hotels and Studio M. The group operates hotels and resorts in the US, Europe, Asia, Middle East and North Africa.