A sneak peek at the private executive lounge, which offers express check-in and check-out and Wi-Fi.
Faith in Dubai
Queitsch’s argument is compelling and he is confident of filling the 1608 rooms he will be in charge of.
“[Look at] Dubai’s [development] — the Dubai airport growth [of] 8% increase in volume, 51 million passengers going through from key markets of India, UK, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar, Germany and US — how much better can it get?
“This is what we are here for, this is our market, this is a huge convention market. This is where we need to put Dubai and our hotel on the map obviously and say we can receive and hold [these groups].”
Again, Queitsch relies on the numbers to back him up: there are 215 destinations out of Dubai with 150 airlines offering a huge potential. Add to this the cruise market, which he recalls has grown from one ship in 1993 with 703 passengers to 135 ships in 2011 with 375,000 passengers.
What is crucial for hotel operators, says Queitsch, is that each hotel identifies its target market within “the wealth of business around us”.
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“People need to know what market they’re in…leisure, corporate…there’s always a purpose for each business. You have to know your purpose.
Our purpose is very clear, and I think we are in a very good position. The other hotels have to worry about their purpose and their mission but I think if you look at this volume coming in through the airport you just have to go fishing and hook it, it’s not that complicated. But there is enough coming, no question and not only today but in the future,” he asserts.
Significantly for the JW Marriott Marquis, adds Queitsch, is the transformation underway in the type of guest coming to Dubai. It is no longer as simple as categorising people as either business or leisure.
“Here’s an interesting trend for Dubai — you find today’s business guest is also a leisure guest. They come here for business and they go to the beach afterwards, go shopping, while the leisure person still does business on his computer. The prediction is that in 2015, in this destination, business purpose travellers will outpace the leisure travellers.
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