TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
Centara opened its doors recently for clients in Muscat with their Centara Muscat Hotel in Oman. Conveniently located in the business and residential precinct, the hotel is just 10 minutes away from the Muscat International airport. General Manager Anthony Wright speaks with TravTalk about the property.
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Please share an overview about the new property in Muscat.
Centara Muscat Hotel offers 152 rooms. It is a modern city hotel featuring well-rounded facilities; three restaurants serving Thai, traditional Turkish dishes and other international favourites, a dedicated Thai spa – Centara’s signature SPA Cenvaree, a rooftop pool and terrace with views overlooking the Gulf of Oman, five meeting facilities that can hold up to 250 guests, premium lounge and complimentary WiFi. We are conveniently located in Ghala Heights, a developing business and residential area which is just 10-minutes from Muscat International Airport and Oman Convention and Exhibition Center, suitable for both business and leisure travellers. The room inventory comprises 152 rooms; 120 Deluxe Rooms, 25 Premium Club Rooms and 7 Business Club Suites. The 33-square-metre Deluxe Rooms offer an option of king-sized or twin beds. Premium Club rooms come with Premium Class benefits, including access to the top-floor Premium Lounge where three meals are served daily. Business Club Suites offer comfortable living rooms and premium benefits – ideal for couples, small families or business travellers who want more space to relax after a busy day.
What sets this property apart from the rest?
The Centara brand represents unique Thai hospitality and we will be the first one to bring this experience to the region. We believe that with our comprehensive and modern facilities matching those in a standard four-star Centara hotel, coupled with its supreme location, Centara Muscat Hotel Oman will be an ideal accommodation choice for those aspiring for a city exploration and those on a business trip.
Tell us about the meeting facilities at the hotel.
We have a total of five meeting halls. The biggest one is about 237-squaremetre Banquet Hall which is large enough to accommodate cocktail receptions of 250 people, or 220 seated theatrestyle. It is complemented by a pre-function area. The hotel also offers four smaller venues. They include a boardroom which can be adjusted from 33 to 39 square metres to fit a range of uses from business meetings to presentations and seminars. Each meeting room comes with modern audio-visual equipment and complimentary wireless internet access. Another conference room, along with the pleasant rooftop terrace, can accommodate up to 80 people – perfect for an evening event, with the Gulf of Oman as a glittering backdrop.
How will you promote the property with agents?
Do they have any special benefits? We provide commissionable rates to agents and promotional offers in every season are in place for them to avail to ensure that our property is easy for them to sell. We also do a lot of Fam tours to create more awareness of the product as well as Muscat as a destination.
Will the property be targeting business or leisure clientele?
We are mainly targeting MICE and business travellers as the hotel is footsteps away from the government ministries and major companies and businesses around the area. The newly-opened Oman Convention and Exhibition Center is just an easy 10-minute drive. We are also expecting a growth on leisure travellers with Oman’s government focusing on the development of its tourism sector as part of the Omani Tourism Strategy 2040 where massive investments have been made to create supporting infrastructures, and this will be another target market for us as the hotel is situated to cater for both business and leisure.
How important is the ME market for Centara?
Tourist arrivals in Oman have increased by 15 per cent on the first few months of 2017 and almost 50 per cent of the tourist arrivals come from the Middle East. The GCC countries are the main important source markets as many travellers opt to stay closer to home or travel domestically. With several billion dollars in GDP, ME market are a highly valuable consumers that represents a huge opportunity for growth-oriented companies like Centara that want to expand internationally.
What are the strategies used to attract more visitors from ME to the property?
We have chosen partners that can help broaden our reach to our clients. We have placed ourselves and set-up our rates with key travel agents (local and regional), wholesalers and DMCs. We do a lot of direct sales to meet corporate clients providing them with practical, efficient information that details how we can accommodate them and why our hotel is the best fit. Roadshows and regional marketing promotions and ads.
