The Jumeirah Group has unveiled new brand Zabeel House by Jumeirah, which it says has been created “in response to the continuing and growing travel trend for exploration and enrichment through travel experiences”.
The group says it aims to create “an eclectic collection of hotels”… “with a focus on locations at the heart of interesting and exciting neighbourhoods”.
Jumeirah says that five management agreements have already been signed under the new brand in the UK, Saudi Arabia and UAE. It’s not clear if these will be properties new to the Jumeirah Group, or a rebranding of existing hotels.
In the UK Jumeirah operates two London properties – the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in Knightsbridge, and the nearby Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel – there is strong speculation that the latter of these will be repositioned under the Zabeel House branding, although Jumeirah Group COO Marc Dedenne said that the new brand “provides an opportunity for Jumeirah Group to access new localities and destinations”.
Jumeirah is hoping to attract both business and leisure guests with the new brand, highlighting a target market of travellers “who want a lively base from which to explore”.
The press release said that “Although positioned as an upscale hotel brand, there is no reference to a particular hospitality category”, adding that properties will be “high on design but low on complexity”, offering “brilliant basics and unexpected extras set in an upscale, casual environment”.
Zabeel House by Jumeirah is being touted as the second brand by Jumeirah Group – in fact the group launched lifestyle brand Venu back in 2010, although the concept was mothballed during the financial crisis, and according to this recent report by gulfbusiness.com there are currently no plans to bring the brand to market.