By Rafiq Vayani
DUBAI: Morpho Hotels & Resorts, a trendy, business, luxury lifestyle brandhas announced its official brand entry into the Middle East market, and it will soon open its doors to the UAE residents and tourists in 2021. The advent of the pandemic has brought about a change in a traveller’s expectations while choosing a hotel.The brand aims to revolutionize the hospitality industry in the region with the introduction of new hotels equipped with optimized and digitized operations with a strict adherence to the highest levels of hygiene and safety to deliver an exceptional experience for all its guests.
Inspired by the evolution of technology, the group will introduce five new properties to cater to three types of travellers, ‘Morpho’ for business, ‘Crystal’ for lifestyle and ‘Vivid’ for luxury travellers.
Dipinder Benjamin, CEO of Morpho Hotels and Resorts commented, “We are very excited to open our doors to travellers in the UAE. Despite the various challenges presented by the pandemic, we are committed to launch our next phase of growth bringing with us a fresh approach to the hospitality industry.The Morpho brand will provide affordable and accessible accommodation with the highest service standards in conjunction with intuitive technology.”
The Group also announced its strategic partnership with Wakira Investments, a Dubai-based seasoned food investment company, which owns popular local restaurants including Kulcha King, Nom Nom Asia and El Greco. The partnership signals the Morpho hotels commitment to expand its footprint through joining forces with Wakira Investments in the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Iraq, and the Levant.
Nader A. Bassit, CEO of Wakira Investments said, “Morpho’s vision and ambition are a perfect match to Wakira’s DNA. Morpho Hotels has a strong leadership team backed by decades of experience and innovative management systems. Wakira Investments is a blend of solid professionals and seasoned shareholders, both with many years of market experiences ranging from hospitality, retail, food processing, investments, to restaurants, and is keen on bringing growing concepts to its region. We look forward to collaborating together with Morpho to elevate the hospitality experience in the Middle East with a well executed concept that will resonate with business and leisure travellers.”
Middle East’s hospitality industry will start recovery in the Q4 of 2020 and this will continue in 2021, according to Colliers International’s MENA Hotel Forecast report for 2020-2021. In 2021, hotel stay demand in the UAE is expected to recover to 62% occupancy on an average and up.UAE will get a boost from the Expo Dubai in Q4 of 2021 as well as smart initiatives driven by the UAE visionary government. For example, driven by the endorsement of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai at the end of 2019, tourism was responsible for contributing an impressive 11.5 per cent in GDP value of the Dubai’s tourism sector that was ranked one of ‘Top 10’ strongest economic share generators, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s Cities report 2019. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will continue to benefit from on-going tourism initiatives, upcoming mega projects, and domestic tourism. The investment of USD 810 billion is planned to boost its tourism sector over the next decade, Colliers International’s report said.With the GCC countries widening their horizon in terms of tourism offerings, experts also report that locally-based visitors are increasingly choosing regional travel over international travel with the UAE and other GCC countries have been at the forefront for its business and luxury hospitality offerings thanks to its attention to detail including safety.
The Morpho Group was launched in line with the quality and safety vision, all its properties will cater to the needs of every traveller and include advanced sanitation and hygiene guidelines to personalized services for those who value comfort, safety, and luxury. From providing a professional and experienced team for centralized reservations to a simplified booking system leveraging BI technology, Morpho will spoil all guests with a safe and immersive experience. Digitalized monitoring, contactless journey, curated experiences, bespoke loyalty and promotion programmes, enhanced F&B options, business & luxury leisure offerings – all of this will also be part of the Morpho journey at each hotel
