A Kuwaiti-owned company is planning to roll out a global expansion of the Yotel "pod" hotels over the next five years.
The announcement comes as the industry picks up worldwide and the company readies to open its US$300 million (Dh1.1 billion) Yotel property in New York's Times Square next year.
IFA Hotels and Resorts, which is the majority investor in Yotel, says the brand is looking at launching between about 30 and 40 of the hotels over the next five years.
Locations under consideration include Europe and the US, as well as Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The idea behind the design of the rooms is inspired by a combination of the Japanese "capsule" hotels and first-class airline cabins.
Simon Woodroffe, the founder of YO Sushi, the conveyor belt sushi bar chain, co-founded the Yotel brand.
"Our plans are global for Yotel, so we are currently in conversations on a number of further projects in Europe, both in airports and in city centre locations, and we are in early conversations with potential partners in the Americas," said Joe Sita, the president of IFA Hotel Investments.
"Further afield, we are very keen to move into China and into the rest of Asia." Yotel signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi National Hotels in 2008 to develop two hotels in the capital. These plans have been delayed by the economic downturn, but Mr Sita said talks were continuing.
"The Middle East is certainly still an area of strong interest for us," Mr Sita said. "In Dubai we see a big market for it and we're just looking for the right site."
Qatar is another attractive option following its successful bid for the World Cup 2022, he said.
With 669 rooms, the hotel in New York, which is owned by IFA and is being developed by Related Companies, is being touted as the largest hotel that will open in the city next year. It is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, with its opening scheduled for the second quarter.
It is part of a wider project that includes a theatre designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry. Yotel has hotels open in London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Amsterdam's Schiphol airports.
The New York hotel will be its first property not based at an airport and as a result it will offer slightly larger but still compact rooms.
"Our timing has been quite good here. There are not very many other hotels opening next year. We're hitting the market just as it's really on the upswing."
Yotel expects to charge between $200 a night and $250 in Times Square, significantly more than the rates at its airport properties, with the Heathrow Yotel typically charging between £40 (Dh231) and £50.
But Mr Sita said that was because the airport hotels were based on the model of a high turnover of guests, as passengers passing through the airport often book the rooms for just a few hours. "So at Heathrow for example we routinely run at 200 per cent occupancy." The tiny rooms have electric beds that can be adjusted to be used as a sofa to make efficient use of the limited space.
"We position the Yotel as affordable luxury," said Mr Sita. "We straddle the boutique hotel space, because we offer that level of finish, and the more budget brands."
He said Yotel was looking for development and investment partners for its projects outside Europe in particular. "We will look for partners to roll out multiple units in those territories. We always believed it was necessary to put our money where our mouth is and show how successful the brand can be by investing our own money.
"That's what we've done [in New York] and we're confident that will be the catalyst for bringing in investor partners to help grow it throughout the US."
rbundhun@thenational.ae
Correction: This article was altered on December 9, 2010 to reflect the fact that Joe Sita is the president of IFA Hotel Investments not president of IFA Hotels and Resorts as stated.
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F1 2020 calendar
March 15 - Australia, Melbourne; March 22 - Bahrain, Sakhir; April 5 - Vietnam, Hanoi; April 19 - China, Shanghai; May 3 - Netherlands, Zandvoort; May 20 - Spain, Barcelona; May 24 - Monaco, Monaco; June 7 - Azerbaijan, Baku; June 14 - Canada, Montreal; June 28 - France, Le Castellet; July 5 - Austria, Spielberg; July 19 - Great Britain, Silverstone; August 2 - Hungary, Budapest; August 30 - Belgium, Spa; September 6 - Italy, Monza; September 20 - Singapore, Singapore; September 27 - Russia, Sochi; October 11 - Japan, Suzuka; October 25 - United States, Austin; November 1 - Mexico City, Mexico City; November 15 - Brazil, Sao Paulo; November 29 - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)
Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Elvis
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THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
More on Quran memorisation:
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
SPECS
Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 306hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500
