Action on the hotel scene of Oman

We have been reading about a number of new hotels projects in Oman, as the efforts to grow tourism in the country continues.

I have been repeating myself over and over on attractions first hotels second, however I have to admit it is far easier to come up with new hotel projects than with meaningful attractions that indeed do the job. So let's just stick to the hotel landscape and have a look of what's in the pipeline at various levels.

Recent openings - please go and check them out

Alila Jebel Akhdar

• Rotana Salala - hosted in the Salalah Beach project of Muriya
• Atana Khasab - new skin on an existing hotel. Atana - the new brand of Omran meant to be a hotel with an Omani soul. The idea is notable, and I am interested to visit it.
• Alila Jebel Akhdar - announced to open and opened on the 8th of May 2014. Initial feedback is positive and in spite of staffing and operational challenges of a hotel in a remote mountain location, Alila has taken the challenge, successfully so far.

Ribbon cutting phase - those on the last 100 meters before opening. Good luck!

• Radisson Sohar - announced to open mid 2014
• Park Inn Duqum - announced to open early 2014 (maybe it did open already)

Broke the ground - to the best of my knowledge these are the ones fro which work has already started on site or is about to start.

Kempinski The Wave Muscat

• Kempinski The Wave Muscat - a new addition to the beach side luxury resorts of Muscat, having the advantage of a very competitive ballroom, the proximity to the airport and a state of the art marina.  
• Anantara Jebel Akhdar - a strong competitor for Alila, concept yet to be revealed.
• Rotana Muscat - a slick and smart business hotel by the airport next to the Golden Tulip.

Dream and design - Concept design, CGIs, models, fly through videos...all or some of the these are being produced for these new hotel projects. In this category there must be lot more the the following: W Shaati Al Qurum, Element, Fort Hotel Boucher, Intercontinental Muscat Hills, JW Marriott Muscat Convention Center, Crown Plaza Muscat Convention Center and the recently announced Jumeirah in Bandar Jissah.

These are at different levels in the  planning process. In a next post I will aim to write about those of the above that are in a bit more advanced stage of planning.

Details that matter: small ideas for hotel room design

I had given some thought to it earlier, but recent experiences refreshed the idea of hotel room design not being an easy discipline. It has to obey functionality and desperately follow trends bearing in mind that the use of hotel spaces is for a wide array of people by age, motivation of travel, professions and lifestyle.

Bringing the bathroom into the room, revolutionized the hotel room design in the early 20th century, and there was not too much happening since then, if we are not interested in the capsule room design segment of the 21st century no frill hotels.

The ancient  rules of creating a satisfactory hotel product hardware (service is obviously the software) talk about the 3B: bed, bathroom, and breakfast. Two of these are in the room. Let's highlight some ideas for the room that are often ignored even by the most recently built hotels. These are based on my own user experience, and some operational and  maintenance considerations:

//Discrete coffee shop - It is much more functional if the coffee/tea making station with the cattle and/or coffee machine is placed in a more discreet but accessible storage (shelf or drawer). The purpose built drawer in the picture works very well. Leaving these out on a desk or a dresser creates the impression of a messy room especially after they have been used.

//Elevate the mini bar - There is not need to place the mini mar under the TV stool any more. The mini bar is already an operational challenge, why make it hardly accessible for both guest and staff. Keeping it in a cupboard mount at eye sight, makes the content more appealing, easier to access and more likely to generate revenue.

//D day for Doors  - apart of the main door, conventional doors are for the past. If the bathroom is well ventilated and the toilette and the shower space has a glass door, we can even forget the bathroom  door which better connects the room space with the often used bathroom. Another solution is a sliding door which on one side closes the shower space on the other the toilette bowl. (you would not use both at the same time)

//Step up not in - The time of the shower in the bath tub is just over. If a tray or stone tiled shower box is not enough then find a separate space for a tub. But a larger more comfortable shower is by far more appropriate for a hotel room than a step in tub/shower combo which kills both. And if you are in desperate need of your evening bath, than upgrade or take a walk to the hotel spa.

//Tidy desk - Flyers, marketing materials, newspapers, menu, phone user manual, house rule etc. etc. never ending pile of paper on your hotel room desk. A lot of time for housekeepers to always tidy it up in a brand standard arrangement, and just one second for the guest to through them off creating usable work space on the desk. Dear hoteliers, let's continue learning from the airline industry. We have already learnt the revenue management from them, let's adapt the way they arrange and display in flight written material. It's simply tidied up in a functional holder, no need for a book stand. If you need something you will get it fast and easy.

//Show TV - TV cabinets are the past, unless it opens electrically creating a 6-star wow effect. There is no argument to hide the TV any more. Instead integrate it into a nice wall design, creating  stylish frame or flexible holder that allows for a minimal rotation. This frees up the space of a heavy TV stand and it allows for a creative use of a wall mounted high resolution display.

//Arty touch - Hotel rooms tend to lack personality or a personal touch. One easy and affordable way of solving this is placing some locally hand crafted small souvenirs in the room. A nice story can be built around them and if there is a series of such items the guest can even buy more from the hotel shop. A good example I saw in an African city hotel is small hand crafted statues of the big 5 mammals of the continent.   You got 2 in your room and your could purchase the rest in the shop.

Some of these can be useful for exiting hotels as well, who are looking to refresh a bit the room experience without major capital expenditures. Enjoy!

Sea Soul Water Park Muscat

Don’t get too excited, there is no park in the city by this name. Let alone water park. It's just a working title for some thoughts around the idea of a water park concept for Muscat. Let’s give it a run.

The bigger picture

A Water Park is an obvious leisure attraction for a city with subtropical climate like Muscat. They are highly capital intensive, with operational costs that leave little room for decent returns for an owner. Given their ability to attract high volume of visitors they tend to enhance land value around them. Often they can be catalysts of urban regeneration projects along with a number of other sports and leisure facilities. In this region they are either part of resorts or are placed in an accessible but green-field context to create the desired land upside.

The water parks are part of the wider amusement/theme park industry which is one of the fastest growing within the leisure industries. On a global comparison Asia (with South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, China, Japan, UAE) is set to a double digit annual growth in their water park visitation, swiftly catching up with the Americas, yet market leader in this segment (with US and Brazil).

In terms of visitation, the largest water park in the world (Typhoon Lagoonin Disney World Orlando, FL) has just over 2 million visitors annually (2.1 million in 2012). The second largest is in China (Chimelong Waterpark) with 2 million visitors albeit recording 6% growth year on year, while Orlando is growing at a much lower rate.

Closer to us, The Aquaventure at the Atlantis The Palm Dubai is the 7^th largest in the world with 1.3 million annual visitors growing at 8% while the Wild Wadi WaterPark Dubai is the 17^th with 850,000 annual visitors in 2012. The Wild Wadi has lost market share to Aquaventure in the recent years. To put this in context, the top 25 water parks in the world attract a combined annual attendance of over 25 million visitors.

Context for Muscat

The largest water parks are located in areas with high population density (Brazil, Japan, Korea) and/or destinations with very strong year round tourism demand (Orlando, Dubai).

Muscat cannot really stand out on any of the above and this should determine the fundamentals of any water park concept planned to be sustainable and viable.

Most mega parks are focused on the thrill with all the same scary and wet rides. The answer of Muscat to the water park question should obviously be something better suited for a local market of 6-800,000 population and total annual tourist arrivals of 2.5 million. Affordability, uniqueness, a local touch through creative originality would be key in my view, as opposed to the conventional wow factor.

In terms of the style of the attraction mix, a balanced combination of thrill, skill and chill, is what would give an optimal mix as opposed to a thrill only focus.

• Thrill – the classic wet slide rides built on speed, gravity, freefall, and a wet and safe landing. These are often combined with some themed context (Posseidon’s castle, marine world etc.). You will find these on all water parks, as being at the very heart of the concept.

• Skill  - Rides, tracks and skill based challenges that puts all age groups at various tests. Flash flooded rope tracks, floating islets, balancing bridges, spinning logs, slippery steps etc. (an easier verios of the Wipe-Out like giant pool toys). All designed to safely put at test your concentrations and physical abilities. The worst it can happen that you plunge in the water and start over again. There are few water parks that feature such attractions. They are more labour intensive to supervise and they cater more for those looking to challenges themselves, which is not always the case with holidaymakers.

• Chill – this is the part which is missing the most from all these mega parks. By definition they are land of adventure and adrenaline, chilling out is not their strong suit. However I think there is a strong need, especially on the mid-eastern markets, to offer an alternative for those who are happy to be there with the family but nor really looking for the action. They prefer more to have a coffee with a cupcake and wind down over a book or their ipad. Terraces with outdoors bar tables, small gardens with shaded and sunny decks, lots of greenery some sandy areas and water views around. More importantly away from the screams and splashing sounds of the thrill and the skill. Not a big deal but can make a big difference.

A third and loosely related element would be the educative one (edutainment). Including it strictly in the core concept of the park would probably not be ideal, however to create an interactive marine life museum and visitor center next door, would definitely be a good combination. The marine life museum at the Bandar Rowda marina are well outdated and quite tired.

This also give the main character of the park which is my view should be the sea and the marine environment.

Ideas

Now let’s see what would be some ideas worth considering or discarding for a potential park. In no particular order or alignment to target segments I thought of:

• The Tide – “wet lounge” part of the chill mix. It would be a lounge with a shallow pool as the floor area, where water level can be set from dry to ankle high of knee high. Some short distance wooden piers facilitate access to various areas.
• The Robinson Crusoe Island – only the best survive the challenges of this island. A series of water based and areal tracks, rides, cable slides, floating bridges, spinning logs and flash flooded tunnels. Every age group can test its skills and stamina at various levels.
• The Tsunami – a surf pool with a variety of wave surfing, body surfing or paddle boarding activities. If space allows a shorter wakeboard cable track would add a unique and popular feature.
• The Kids Beach Club – an indoor and outdoor kids only area with animated activities and programs, linked with the neighboring Marine World visitor centre.
• The Swamp – this would be a combination of mazes, rides and water attractions that are more on the exciting and mysterious end of the spectrum than on the fast and furious type rides.  A number of animated challenge  games could also be included (the Fort Boyard syle or Pirates themes games)
• The Cave – a major indoor facility that can run year round and offer a selection of slides (perhaps in an octopus design) and other smaller scale attractions.
• The Bay – who said it’s all about adrenaline? Away from the noise of the thrill rides, this hideaway offers the piece and the chill you need between two sessions of fun or can be your wind down escape while the rest of the family plunges into action.
• The Reef – a marine life encounter area, perhaps part of the Marine World visitor centre or separate. It offers the chance to see live marine life and learn about the marine habitat of the Arabian Sea.

These are few concepts that could be fresh and unique in the world of aqua parks. However coming up with the a right and sustainable concept for water park for Muscat is not an easy tasks and will require thorough work and hundreds of hours of research and creative work. The aim for me would be a delicate balance between the optimal size of creating the critical mass without overspending and/or planning with an excessive operating costs. The balance between the indoor and outdoor functions will also be key.

I am really excited to see how this is going to evolve.

A very good investment for Oman

A bit of an unusual post for this blog, but these thoughts were chasing me for some time.

There is a lot of talk and some actions as well on strengthening the employment in the private sector, enhancing the SMEs, creating an Omani labour force that will play a major role in the sustainability of a non-oil economy. This is all good and encouraging. There is one aspect thought, that - in my view - will have a massive impact on the future of the country and that is parenting.  Education and pedagogy as an activity carries a major paradox that of trying to prepare kids for the future, a future that is unknown for the educators themselves.  Parenting is somewhat similar.  We are all trying to educate our kids for their 20s, 30s 40s and beyond; not really knowing what will be challenges they will face in 10, 20 or 30 years time.

One thing for sure, we as parents have a window of 10 to 14 years when we can set the grounds for the development of their personalities.  After that the high school friends, the sports club buddies, coaches, often the boarding school teachers abroad, or the street ‘gangs’ themselves are the educators with most of the influence. All we can do is follow the events and give an opinion eventually try to intervene when things go off track, or we think they do.  In some cases we are very vocal in expressing our opinion in some others we try to be more persuasive given explanations and examples, but no matter what we think, our teenage kids will still consider it just an opinion. The last time I remember really taking away my parents advice I was around 10-12.  But is not just our communication with the kids, and the pieces of wisdom we want them to remember, it’s the whole experience of home, spending time with Mummy or Daddy. Seeing how they relate to each other, how they solve a conflict (do they solve it of just swipe it under the carpet), how they encourage their child. The patience they show and the trust they put in their development. The determination to curb things that are seen as wrong and the creativity of enforcing the good. There is a whole range of situational and contextual information that shapes their personalities and values.

Now this might seem all boring parenting textbook, but here’s the thing.  Most families are heavily relying on nannies, or even worst, maids that are asked to work as nannies. Now think of all these aspects above in the context of being raised by a nanny that unfortunately more often than not is just doing a job.  An underpaid, under motivating, often frustrating job. She cannot behave as a parent for obvious reasons, she is not a mere baby sitter as a full time nanny, and often times she has her own child back home.  Therefore a whole generation could grow up under a very loose and particular parenting environment. A generation the country will have to rely on.

I don’t really know what is the solution to this, but parenting in Oman  - and everywhere else for that matter - definitely needs more investment.  Investment from the scarcest resource 21^st century people have: time.

Wadi Shab Resort II. - ideas for the concept

I have finally seen the Wadi Shab Resort during the last week-end.  My assumptions shared earlier turned out to be fairly accurate. I found the location and the views just great so I thought to put down some ideas (not all) that with minimal extra costs can do some more justice to this place. This is not really a visitor review (it is meant to be more for hoteliers and/or owners) but is does offer some info for you if you are interested in spending a relaxing week-end there.

Entrance (below) and some ideas (above)

The hotel has a great LOCATION, stunning sea views and good visibility from the road. It is practically impossible to miss as you drive south, unless you are sleeping.  They have also done a good job with road signage along the way from both directions: Muscat and from Sur. You have multiple signs indicating the decreasing distance until the hotel.

They have recently updated the imagery on their website, which is much better than it was before.  The building nicely blends into the environment but the finishing of the structures though is not meant to have a very long life.  (They better start allocating a replacement reserve by now.)

The steep slip road leading up to the ENTRANCE from the highway is not completed yet, but ironically, the dark red color of the gravel it confers an interesting visual factor with some sense of arrival. This sense of arrival however vanishes as soon as you park your car and head to the gate.  There is a whole lot that can be done here to improve that experience and impress the guests. Plants in pots and some landscaping could already achieve a lot. A real extra would be to put some stone carved imagery (like on the Cornish) on the barren wall facing the parking depicting the main attractions you can visit reach in the area (Wadi Shab, Tiwi, White Beach, Sink Hole, Sur etc.).

wilder ideas (above) and the current

The SIGNAGE within the resort is unfortunately not as good as the roadside one. These signs lack originality and they are often misplaced. Having a set of creative well designed (perhaps poled) signs would result in a greatly improved visual and visitor experience.

The RESTAURANT has a boat themed terrace which I found interesting and creative. With an absolutely stunning sea view it does give you an impression that you are on the deck of a boat. The details could be further enhanced by furniture and related decorative objects but the concept is good.

The ROOMS are a bit small for a resort but still manageable. The view of each unit from outside and especially their terrace could be enhanced perhaps by hanging some plants or similar.

The POOL is relatively nice and it even has a small wading pool on the side for toddlers. A (partial) shade would improve the pool experience especially in hot season. There is a small playground as well but it needs some soft pavement, maybe even artificial grass over it to make it more enjoyable and safe.

The terraces (above) and ideas to enhance them

For its 34 rooms, it has a relatively large OUTSIDE AREA, a large part of it steeply sloping toward the beach, which is not really used for anything. It is rocky and rough but a couple of nice patios could be set up further down closer to the beach, for watching the sunrise, or just have a relaxing hour in the shade listening to the waves.  With a smart design it could also be used for barbecues in the evening.  The fence around the property, especially from the beach looks a bit overdone. It resembles more of urban or industrial fencing than a resort one. I don’t think there are many intruders in the region especially interested in a property with constant surveying.  Just lowering it and changing the wire fence into some friendlier material or design would do a great deal (if not taking it away altogether).   Also adding more plants on the terraced area (I know it’s costly to maintain and replace) will change  the rugged exterior into a more friendly one adding more life to the place.

The nice restaurant terrace (left) ideas to enhance (right)

In terms of ACTIVITIES within the resort, there is a whole lot more that can be done, such as: water sports (banana pull, water ski, kayaking, etc), animated programs for kids (during week-end), cooking workshops for quests etc. etc.  I assume this will come with time and an increasing request from the guests. The place is also a nice hub for a number of daytrips in the region, so local guides could also find this an opportunity. Wadi Shab, Wadi Tiwi, Sink Hole, Ras al Jinz, Sur dhow yards, Dhayqha Dam, and many more are all under or around 80km.

As for the interiors…I have no idea, but as OPNO mentioned before, the place could certainly help a creative eye with some Omani affinity and a modest but reasonable budget.

I know this is intended to be a mid market hotel, so we cannot expect a whole lot but the overall experience and subsequently the occupancy and the revenues can be enhances significantly by a similar thinking to that of above.

Idea for beach patio and maybe grill area

Trends in hotel design

It seems developers are back at flirting with hotel developments again. Since hotels are perceived as riskier investments than other commercial real estate (reflected in their pricing), a renewed appetite is good sign of positive investor expectations towards real estate. With an increasing number of projects on the design board, I thought to share some of my thinking regarding what could be the new trends in hotel design. Take this as loud thinking and by no means a crystallized trend analysis.

--In the remote past hotels were places of status, appeal and glamour. The Bristols’, the Continentals’, the Astorias’, the Savoys are all hotel names that resonate with luxury, white gloved butlers, massive chandeliers and huge rooms. Interestingly enough these names are not affiliated brands. They just exist as traditional hotel names used by local hoteliers. At the time there was little functionality involved in the design. It was all the exclusive look and feel that mattered.

--In the recent past, with the increase of mobility, hotel design was more about a combination of functionality and recreating the home feel.  Some used to argue though, that travelers are not looking for something that is ‘home away’ but for better or at least different. Right or wrong it seems that trend wise we have already put this behind.

    
 

--The most recent efforts were about combining the experience (how I feel while there?) and motivation (why am I there?) driven design, and the attempt to create the best of both. Think of the business hotels tailored to corporate traveler’s needs, or the kids friendly hotels, family resorts focused on an all including coherent experience.  Emergence of chic or hip hotel brands or collections like DesignHotels, W, Aloft, Andaz, MGallery, or Morgans, etc. all focused on the lifestyle and the wow feel of spaces, often (not always) compromising on the functionality. Then the fashion brands extensions came along with Armani, Bvlgari and Missoni hotels which I mainly see as mere branding exercises rather than any substantial change in the fundamentals of hotel design.

For the short term future I don’t think there is a whole new school of thought taking shape (if you know of any please share). What I see more is that there are increasing efforts in keeping up with the changes in life and consumption habits of people. Hotels are trying to become very high tech in their distribution, appearance and experience offered.  The lifestyle features (mainly interior design related) are reinvented and recreated in an ever changing brand and trend context but the basic fundamentals (like the bad, breakfast, bathroom etc.) have not been addressed. Here are a few thoughts that do suggest some concepts are being re-thought and we might see them spreading out in the hotel world:

//Living lobby – recreating the lobby as a living room, a multi-use space for casual talks, short informal meetings, logging into conf calls, or just work on your an ipad or notebook. Most of these activities all go beyond a couch and a coffee table. They require small bays, more intimate corners, visual barriers that segment the space, tables with varying height, sockets everywhere,  etc. and above all much personality, though design but also through service.

//Light on lighting – There is no traveler on earth that has not been annoyed by the light controls in a rooms. There is a typical case of less is more. Having 3-4 predefined lighting schemes (e.g. lounge/reading mode, office/desk mode, TV mode and full on/off) would just do a perfect job and spare you of playing piano on the light switchboard.

//Big Bed Small Room - Bed is an essential feature of hotels, but it takes up most of the space in the room, at least in the mid scale, economy hotels. We should find ways of using the space above the bed, during the day. Weather it's a temporary roll-in desk, pressing board, storage shelf, or other, I sense opportunities there. I have not seen solutions other than the folding bed that might be a compromise on the quality of the bed itself.

//Kitchen breakfast – Breakfast is essential part of the hotel experience, more than the fine dining that most luxury or upscale properties offer. But since the buffet concept, there hasn't been any revolutionary improvement on that front. The response on the need for business breakfasts was also quite slow, or non-existent.  Having more flexible breakfast areas with several smaller kitchen-islands, including a small bar stool and chairs could add a fresh feel and way people have breakfast. It would also make the process a bit more fun and interactive.

Day Dining – staying at the food subject, lobby bar food typically sucks.  The whole lobby bar space should be rethought moving away from the cocktail and coffee space clichés and make it more integrated with the lobby and it’s diversity and multifunctionality.

//Top to toe – There is always room to improve on the use of space from rooftop to basement of the hotels. There are quite some properties with rooftop bars or pools, but less so with extensions of executive lounges, or meeting rooms. Or even just a small garden for a newspaper or a coffee. Obviously sound considerations should apply. Basements can also do much more than just a bar, or a club. Parking coupled with value ad services like car cleaning, etc can offer a good yield as well.

//TapTrip – It is not strictly design related, but the tablet/smartphone experience of hotels is also swiftly changing. We are not far from the online check-in solutions (airlines have it for a decade now), and the touch your phone room key either. But that’s a whole other subject…

Wadi Shab Resort

New hotel supply on the horizon.  In fact, much closer than that as one can already book a room in the new Wadi Shab Resort, say for the coming week-end. It's a small, 34-room resort type hotel next to Tiwi just off Wadi Shab, hence the obvious name association.

I have not seen the hotel up and running yet, just did a bit of digging on the web. Having been in the area a few times, I was trying to get an initial feel of what the product could or should be.

Well the good news is the strong local entrepreneurial spirit triggering a new venture on tourism, in a rural area. It is still striking how few facilities are in the catchment of such a wonderful place like Wadi Shab and Tiwi. Now at least we have a nice hotel that can be used as a basis for some star day trips in the area or use it as a stopover for traveling further south. Or just to spend a couple of days on the beach away from the city and not having to compromise on your sleep.

The less good news is, that while the place is magnificent, the new hotel does not seem to show much originality, personality or unique touch. It does not seem to capture the feel and essence of the area: a blend of calm and pristine coastal and a wild, rough mountain feel. But then again, let’s stay positive. Maybe it’s a bit too early, maybe the photography on the web page can be improved a bit. A lot of the offering can also be shaped as we go.  Maybe the kitchen will be a main drawcard. As we know, in Oman a strong cuisine can make guest forget about many other issues and have them leave with a smile on their face. 

So I urge you to go and try it out, and maybe let us  know how did you find it. (Btw. they should also register the hotel on tripadvisor). In any ways I wish the owners good luck and success in their business. As it looks now they have quite good chances to do very well in the week-ends and will have to run for their money during week-days.

Side note:

Some say it’s bad that the tourism developments in Oman have not been undertaken at a bolder pace. This maintained a more pristine and traditional feel of the tourism landscape, as opposed to a shadow of the volume driven strategies of our neighbors. Some others are proud of this traditional feel and a bit underdeveloped status. Either way, the country is increasingly popular among international travelers and efforts are also being undertaken to finally encourage the domestic tourism. This coupled with the vacuum in quality offering, especially in the countryside, gives Oman the opportunity to leapfrog a trial and error type organic growth and focus on a smarter process. That is consciously controlling what is built in the context of a clear vision.  To have a strategy of what do we want and what we do not want. (They will always be more of the latter. Any strategy has more losers than winners in the short term.)  Entrepreneurial thinking is good for Oman, but leaving it all on it is not yet advisable.  Expressing a vision, encouraging, guiding and supporting entrepreneurs it is!  In one word to plan!  To master plan!  Tourism and land planning decision makers will never have the (relatively) clean sheet of paper they have now. Let's rehears the lessons learnt and plan. And If we think we already do plan, well that's good, then let's try to improve. There is always room for that.

Jabal Akhdar Resort delayed

It seems there is no magic around hotel development in Oman. The much expected Alila Jabal Akhdar Resort developed by Omran  is announced to be delayed with a year. A 90 days extension was awarded based on a variation order for construction of an additional building. As of January 2013 the project is above 50% completion. Expected opening is  Q4 2014 as opposed to Q4 2013.

I was on my way of getting exited on the push this property would give to the domestic tourism, when this news reminded me of the coded mismatch between planning and realization in this part of the world.

Anyways, given the relatively short delay, I thought would still worth having a look at the proposed concept. Alila is a Singapore based small hotel operator and brand. Their proprieties are promoted as luxury hotels and seem like a lighter version of the more established Aman Resorts. I have never been at any of their six properties (two in Bali, two in Jakarta, one in Bangalore and Goa) but have looked on the reviews the corporate website and checked some of the pricing. This property is planed as a 78  86-room luxury hotel with extensive spa and relaxation offering along with a cliff-side restaurant and pool. Alila was selected as a strategic partner for Omran, as they expressed interest in also managing other future properties in Oman.

I hope it will not cost too much Omran to get Alila run their hotel, as I see little value in having such a brand on this particular property targeting primarily the local and regional market.  Generically I would say you are better off with your own brand rather then going for an expensive international operator when most of the following conditions apply: 

• your location is just great and it pretty much sells itself,
• you have relatively easy access to your sender markets, though own channels or online travel agents (like booking.com etc.)
• you don't have much competition in terms of rate, your product is clearly higher in value proposition, and last but not least
• when you cannot afford an international operator (intl' brand affiliation is an expensive operating cost and can pretty much kill your profits).

Looking at the above, it seems to me that a well construed own brand would make just about the same work or better than Alila would. Of course with a proper management and sales channels in place to address the local and regional markets.

I guess we will have to wait and see.

After posting the above I have been informed by Omran's communication people that some of the information above was not accurate. I was sourcing the factual data from publicly available articles and websites. While I tend to double check what I quote and always link the references, I cannot possible verify the accuracy of these sources. That being said I thank Omran for their clarifications and interest in this blog, and have amended my post to reflect the new information received.

The bottom line 2012

Let's just have a quick look back on 2012 and see where the tourism offering of Oman has moved in a year. I am not talking about hard facts not announcements and press releases. What do we have more compared to 2011 that attracts more tourists? Off the top of my head:

• Almouj Golf officially opens including the par 3 floodlit golf course
• Ghala Valley Golf Club opens full 18-hole grass course
• Best Western opens Premier in Muscat
• Duqm sees torrent of new hotels: Veronica Floating Hotel and City Hotel Duqum with Crown Plaza just missing the line to open this year
• Salalah Beach project progresses with the opening of the Marina and the Juweira Butique Hotel
• Other openings which are arguably tourist attractions but might ad to the mix: Opera Galleria, MGM, Go Cart track, Amouage's new factory and visitor center etc.

In terms of sweet talk, promotion and softer type issues there was much more. Here are a few:

• Muscat Arab Tourism Capital for 2012 - and all the nice buzz around it
• An agreement to develop a Kempinski Hotel The Wave was signed by a consortia of investors
• A new Intercontinental was announced for Muscat Hills (since the one in Shaati will be replaced by a W hotel)
• Alila hotels signed up to manage the future Omran Hotel in Jebel Akhdar
• Oman Sail has waved the country's name all over the sailing word this year, wining the Extreme Sailing Series, tourism promotion awards and bids to organize international sailing events
• And of course Sheraton managed to stay closed for another year.

The above suggest to me that perhaps we need to remind ourselves of the basics: visitors are coming for attractions. The better they are packaged the more will come. Hotel are just services, parts of the package but are rarely the attractions themselves. I am really looking forward to new tourist products in the coming years that act as attractions rather then just services. Here are a few with some potential: The City Walk Muscat could finally be proper master planned activation of beach areas, The Oman Convention & Exhibition Center,  The Alila Resort in Jebel Akhdar, The Club Med in Salalah, and the de-industrialized and leisure focused waterfront regeneration in SQ Port in Mutrah etc. Insha'Allah.

Multi-sport complex for Bidbid area

It was some time ago I wrote about my views on the importance of sports for developing a competitive, just-do-it mentality.
It seems that others see potential in sports development as well. According to the Omani press,  yesterday was signed an agreement to implement a $300mn worth greenfield sports complex development  for Fanja Club, known as the defending champions of the one Omani Football League.

The integrated project in Al Seeh Al Ahmer is planned to include outdoor sports facilities for football and tennis and indoor sport hall for sports like handball volleyball, basketball and swimming. The integrated feature will be completed by a 5-star hotel, 60 villa units and a small golf course and other leisure elements.

Such integrated sport complexes are known for some time, especially in urban context in Europe. In many cases these huge areas (often ex horse racing tracks) became centrally located through the gradual expansion of cities, so they are facing a mismatch between value and functional utility. Through such integrated re-development, value is unlocked  while maintain the sports and social function.

In this case I am not aware of enough details to provide a proper opinion, but based on the public statement it seems there is quite a bit of conceptual uncertainty in the scheme. First of all I am not sure such a complex needs a 5-star hotel, a 4-start would seem a better match. What they mean buy a small golf course: par-3, 9-hole, 6-hole or eventually a themepark-like minigolf? How will professional sports be wed with access to public, or it is just meant for professional sports? Will the sports demand be enough to sustain a full time medical center or intention is to have a fully blown sports clinic to service the whole country? The circulated amount seems way too big for any possible payback within a reasonable time frame. And so on...

Let's look at the bright side: even if nothing will happen which I hope will not be the case, there is talk about sports development and that increases awareness on its importance.

Is Sheraton Ruwi recovering?

The long closed old Sheraton in Ruwi is showing signs of life once in a while.  It might be approaching the end of its 6-year coma, as yesterday just blinked, moved one hand and whispered that it might wake up as new in 12 to 16 months.  The doctors and relatives are confident.

As an outsider and not knowing the property well enough, I would speculate that once revived the hotel has good chances in failing to regain its glory, provided it will try to pick up business where it left it 6 years ago.

Things have changed since then, lots of new upscale hotels came on the market and quite a few are just about to knock on the door like the Kempinski at The Wave, the W and the Westin in Shaati, The Intercontinental at the Muscat Hills just to name a few. The city is growing northwards; CBD is not going to stay in Ruwi forever. The Airport Heights are gaining already over Ruwi in offering higher quality office space and better accessibility.  

I am sure the owners have done their homework, but to me it seems that for that location there are two opportunities on the Muscat market that very few really cater for at the moment:

1. the extended stay business guests.  This segment still does not have a decent branded offering in town. If you’d like to stay for more weeks let alone months, you’d either put the big buck on the table or you’ll have to close your eyes and be happy with a locally branded compromise. The short term apartment rental market it also practically nonexistent.

2. the ergonomic, chic economy business hotel. The closest such brand in the Starwood portfolio is Element, however it’s rather unknown outside of North America.  Starwood website quotes an Element to be opened in Muscat in Jan 2016 (while it has no mention of a Sheraton to open any time soon), but that refers to the project replacing the Intercontinental Shaati along with the W and the Westin. A Four Points by Sheraton would also be a better option, allowing for a lower price point and avoid competition with the coastal 5 stars.

In my view, a combination of the above would be a much better bet for the glorious building than just stepping up as a face lifted Sheraton. Let’s see.

Non-existing hotel sold?

I read in Oman Observer last week that Garden Hotel in Dhofar region was sold for an amount that is quite decent in hotel value terms (RO 10 million).

On one hand such transactions are reassuring that there are encouraging prospects on the hotel market on the other hand it left me a bit puzzled as I had no previous knowledge of a Garden Hotel in Oman. I though it's just my lack of knowledge. Quickly searched around but still found nothing.   So it's quite a lot of money for a hotel that is nowhere to be found, I thought.  Then saw some raised eyebrows on twitter from others following Omani press as well, they also had no clue what this could be.

There must be something somewhere for sure, most likely a development project (but the article does not mention this).

I can only think of two scenarios: 1: we are dealing with a PR trick raising peoples interest (like me blogging about it) - very unlikely though.  2. it's just lack of publishing accuracy and journalistic interest putting something out that was not really verified and made sense of - more likely.

Anyways, whenever there will be a Garden Hotel in Dhofar region I hope it will do well.

Sink Hole to become a resort

I just read the other day that Muscat Municipality partnered up with the private sector to develop a new resort in  Quriyat region, on the site of the well known Sink Hole.  It is quoted by some prestigious publications as the world most beautiful sink hole.

If you've been there, you know that the place is quite simple and apart of this great natural attraction which is a huge rocky hole formation, filled with deep green crystal clear water (well at least until some less respectful travelers don't through diet coke cans in it) there is not much around. So using up the fame of the attraction it only makes sense to put up services around.

Not having seen plans though I would think there are a few issues of concern, and perhaps some great opportunities as well, hopefully to be considered by the concept development team.

Original form: This natural marvel is beautiful as long as it is kept clean and and in its original form. Overcrowding it with stairs (take away the current concrete monster stair please), terraces etc. will kill it's spirit and beauty.

Crowd management:  I would even limit the number of people (like at the Al Hoota Caves) to be in at the same time to enable it to better impress visitors. The fact that the resort to be built has a relative low room count (67 rooms and 20 suites) is reassuring that the large crowds will be kept at bay.

Edutaimnent factor: When I was there with my family, I kind of missed some informative element from the experience which would explain the natural formation of the lake, and perhaps show some similar ones elsewhere. (in Tawi Attir-Oman, in US, along the dead Sea etc.) Having the resort there an people staying for few days, it's a unique opportunity to create a geological visitor center for them to show a short story of Oman's geo formations and related things to know. Introducing the edutainment factor would give a valuable and unique ad on to the resort at reasonable extra cost.

Can't wait to see the place ready!

Affordable variety for local travelers

With just under 3 million people Oman qualifies as a small country. As a comparison it has just a bit more inhabitants than Paris and bit less than Berlin.  In spite of its small size the domestic and regional tourism  is vital for Oman for a number of reasons: a) its remote location relative to Europe, b). it's highly seasonal foreign demand (due to weather) and c) it's niche character as a destination.

What is the best way to engage the Omanis and expat residents to travel more around the country? My call would be: the affordable variety. Now what the heck is that?  For instance a network of 8-15 interesting historic hotels, inns and guest houses located in historic and culturally interesting locations.

I am thinking about renovated and converted forts,  converted fishing villages with beach clubs, mountain vacation villages, desert camps (there are a few already). Destinations hotels in themselves around the country offering a critical mass of nice places to go for long week-end and short holidays (Dar Al Dhiyafa's). And most importantly they should all be different with a separate story to tell.  Hotels and guesthouses of 15-40 units (rooms) with limited service but still up to the standards of 3 star hotels with breakfast and all you can eat buffet dinner (an attraction on its own).

An example of a converted Pousada

In order to make such an initiate viable the rates should be affordable for an average Omani family. Therefore conversion budgets should be low, using existing structures. Staff should be not more than 8-15 for a location. Most of the operational overhead costs should be shared, so a common operator should be established that creates a joint reservation platform (online and call center), with shared sales & marketing function,  and other corporate services (accounting, legal, finance etc.)

There is nothing new in this though, other countries like Portugal have done this long time ago and their experience can serve as a good example. This chain of historic hotels, guest houses and mansions is called Pousadas de Portugal and can be checked out here. (Pousada means Inn in Portugese)

Qatar2022: The utopia of sharing

You don't have to be a football fan to know by now that Qatar has won the right to organize the FIFA World Cup in 2022.   Just before the UEFA EURO 2012 Championship (hosted by Poland and Ukraine) Michel Platini the president of UEFA proposed that the following EURO championships should be hosted by cities across European countries as opposed to one country.   He gave as a bad  example Qatar, a country of 1.7 million set to host the FIFA World Cup, an event that needs at least 10-12 stadia with capacity of 45.000 and above each (700.000+ football stadia seets in total) and close to 60-90.000 new hotel rooms.

He claims that spreading the right of organizing across more GCC countries would have a much larger ripple effect and result in sustainable developments.

Personally I think it is a fantastic idea, which huge international and regional potential, but with a probability of being implemented close to if not spot on zero.  But if we were to be just a bit critical a huge amount of doubt arises with respect to the opportunity and legacy of a World Cup event in Qatar.

The country has 12 registered A level football clubs with an average attendance on a "Stars League" match of 4,150 spectators. Yes four thousand, one tenth of the smallest stadium to be built.  So, no matter how positive we try to be, it hardly makes any sense what the small state with unlimited resources is about to engage for: building 12 air conditioned stadiums, an additional mega airport of 24 million pax p.a. (remember population is 1.7 million), launch above 200 infrastructure projects and practically "spend" 100 billion USD to put the country to lead the world rankings of highest stadium seats per capita, per square kilometer and etc.

With the short travel distances between GCC capitals, engaging other capitals in the region seems a no-brainer. Doha + one other Qatari location could take on opening, 2 groups, quarter final, semifinals and the final, while Dubai/AD, Kuwait City, Manama, Muscat and perhaps Riyadh could take group each and some quarterfinals and one of them a semi.

This would result in a much more balanced event, culturally more interesting experience and above all totally sustainable legacy and impact for the whole region, a region where the most popular sport is by far football.

Making peace with Time

What do you think Dali was inspired by when he came up with the melting clocks?

Only recently I came to appreciate the way most people in Oman relate to time. Westerners are raised to believe that time is money, and the quicker you are the better you are. Time is an essential measure for them.  They are always in a hurry and claim (or pretend) to be very time conscious.  I was puzzled initially and  only recently came to actually experience that here, quicker is not necessarily the better, and time efficiency is not always your best advisor.  Taking the time, “sleeping on it” could put things into better perspective and you end up taking a better decision (or end up not having to take one).  This obviously only works if there is a social acceptance of being slow, which in Oman is more or less there. If everybody around you is going crazy to get things done quickly you will not be appreciated to hold up things in the hope of a...more though-full  outcome.

With the service sectors and cost of labor gradually growing though, it will be interesting to see how this cultural norm is changing or prevailing.

One thing for sure, I think westerners should sometimes ask themselves if their way is really always the best way, given the bigger picture and the cultural context.  I think adapting (but not giving up) your views and routines to what you see and feel (!) around you is a far better way of achieving results, than  just exhibiting arrogance and labeling people (or even worst: groups of people) inefficient or lazy.

Summertime reminder for decision makers

Maybe it’s just me, but I have the impression that tourism professionals and developers in GCC are showing signs of revival. There is an increasing number of news hitting my inbox every day on new campaigns, promotions, packages, destination events, partnerships, new projects.  We all remember the years of new developments launched every week (obviously all of them intended to be sold out off plan) and how that changed with the nose dip of 2008/2009.  Perhaps now it is a good time to go back to the basics in rethinking what is to come next.

The lessons of the “concept-fireworks” showcased during the development race in GCC, (mainly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi) worth a reminder time and again. Having witnessed what was happening those days here’s what I would remind myself every morning before stepping into a spacious corner office anywhere in the region, if I were one of those decision makers.

Original originality is key:  and I don’t mean to hire the most expensive creatives in trying to build a kick ass brand for the water in your pool or the grass in the garden.   I mean do your homework in understanding what gives value to the destination, brainstorm around those ideas and focus on a result that is easy to differenciate. A concept that others – and not only you – think is special.  A good example is TheChedi. After so many years open, it still manages to remain a special destination hotel in a pretty average location.

The good old service: hospitality and tourism is so much more about service than anything else. And you don’t have to be an American to realized this.  Service = people, it’s not about the glitzy buidings or the adventure rides. It comes down to having the right people interacting with the travelers. They should be happy, motivated, genuin and obviously enjoing what they do. You can only achive this if you put effort and skills in selecting them, if you care about them, if you realize and also make them understand that they are your service.  I often hear executives saying  „you cannot work with these people by positive feedback and encouragement, they cannot be motivated, they only perform if they are kept under constant pressure...”   I completly disagree. It migh be harder than in another cultural environment, where foreign labour is not so dominant, but it’s possible. It just takes a bit of skills, experience and above all engagement.

Be yourself:  similar to people, destinations can only have personality if they focus on their strengths not trying to mime others. I think Abu Dhabi for example has still not figured out itself as something better than a toned down replica attempt of its neighbour. China is making massive mistakes on this front, but that is a very different story. Oman has natural attractions that nobody else has (or can replicate) in the region, focusing on those should always be kept at the core of its offering.

Engage locals:  there are no better advocates for a destination that those who grew up there but also understand where are you -as a traveler- coming from and what are you after.  By the simple fact of having only local taxi drivers, Oman has already achieved a huge differentiation in perception from the rest of the region. That should be taken to the next level now.

And the list goes on… All in all, Oman seems to have obvious advantages on the criteria above, hope these already are and will be better put in practice.

Photo by shimertje. http://www.flickr.com/photos/shimmertje/