Emaar Hospitality Group wins ‘Chinese Preferred Hotel’
Four premium luxury properties under Emaar Hospitality Group, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Emaar Properties, were awarded the ‘Chinese Preferred Hotel’ certification from Ctrip in recognition of their extensive and full offering to Chinese business and leisure travellers to Dubai.
Ctrip is China’s number one travel website and Online Travel Aggregator (OTA) catering to businesses and consumers, and also selling to China’s huge travel agent sector that commands significant influence across one of the world’s growing travel markets. China is a significant source market for Dubai having welcomed 520,000 visitors in 2016, up by 22 percent over 2015, and set to record a growth of 300 percent by 2018.
The four properties awarded with ‘Chinese Preferred Hotel certification’ are: Address Boulevard, Address Dubai Mall, Address Dubai Marina and Palace Downtown. Strict criteria had to be met to receive the accolade covering factors such as the property offering Mandarin speaking services, Chinese sign instructions, Chinese fact sheets on hand, Chinese-convenient payment systems such as Union Pay, Alipay or WeChat, guest reviews with a 3.8 rating and above, free Wi-Fi in each room and Chinese breakfast.
Properties that receive ‘Chinese Preferred Hotel certification’ are entitled to four key benefits including marketing about the hotel’s Chinese-friendly services, a special badge attached to the hotel to highlight its Chinese-friendly services, awareness on outstanding services designed for Chinese guests and priority participation in Ctrip marketing campaigns.
Olivier Harnisch, Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, said: “China has been one of our core markets with our hotels increasingly serving as destinations of choice for Chinese travellers. Each of our properties focuses on integrating features that make the Chinese visitors feel at home, and this is reflected in the Ctrip recognition. Our hotels appeal to them for their location, the amenities we offer, and the personalised service, complete with Mandarin-speaking guest service professionals. The Ctrip recognition will further drive Chinese visitor traffic to our hotels, complementing the initiatives of the authorities to welcome more Chinese travellers and entrepreneurs to Dubai.”
Emaar Hospitality Group has three hotel brands – the premium luxury hotel and serviced residences brand, Address Hotels + Resorts; the upscale lifestyle hotel and serviced residences brand, Vida Hotels and Resorts; and the new contemporary midscale hotel and serviced residences brand, Rove Hotels. The diverse portfolio is innovative and futuristic as it meets the aspirations of the modern business and lifestyle traveller.
Ctrip was founded in Shanghai in 1999 and is China’s number one travel agency with 17 branches and 30,000 employees. It boasts hotel coverage in 234 countries with 1.2 million hotels.
