DUBAI Jumeirah Group is suspending the development of its Venu Hotels brand, a lifestyle concept that the Dubai-based company announced a year ago.
“We have decided to park the Venu brand for the time being,” CEO Gerald Lawless tells ArabianBusiness.com. “We might look at it again in a year or two… but right now, for the immediate future, we will not do anything.” Venu properties had been announced for Azerbaijan and Shanghai, but those projects are now on hold.
Under its luxury Jumeirah brand, the company expects to have 22 hotels in operation by the end of next year, with another 38 in the pipeline, Lawless says.
In Dubai, where Jumeirah has six properties open, it has recorded 85% occupancy during the first quarter, and RevPAR is up 7% year over year. “We really feel that Dubai is back as far as the tourism industry— more the hotel industry I would say— is concerned,” Lawless says.
