MUBEEN MEHTA Suba hotel's CEO speaks to WILLIAM FARIA

DUBAI: An Indian-based hotel chain operator is banking on the UAE tourism demand especially with Dubai leading up to Expo 2020 that will receive a huge influx of visitors arriving in the emirate.
Suba Group of Hotels from Mumbai on Sunday opened a four-star, Sharia-compliant boutique hotel in Deira to cater to the corporate community and also provide services for guests in transit through Dubai.
The hotel’s CEO MUBEEN MEHTA while speaking to WILLIAM FARIA said that this is the only hotel in the emirate that provides each hotel room with the touch panel ipad gadget and hence it’s a technology-friendly establishment.
Explaining the features of the gadget, Mubeen said the multi-utility unit has a built-in camera to monitor every moment and make it easier for visitors to have a first-hand experience to their respective rooms. The gadget gives the guest an excess to their rooms and allows them to operate all other electronic appliances such as the air conditioners, lights, fans, and also facilitate express check-out from their rooms.
Mubeen revealed that this is the hotel’s chains first entity out of India. It already has five established hotels in Mumbai and Gujrat and expects to add another in Baroda at the end of this year. Hotel Suba International aims to tap the business clientele with its current 92 rooms in Dubai, says Mubeen.
The 4-star hotel accommodates a banquet hall, a multi-cuisine specialty restaurant, a coffee shop and a general restaurant. It is the only hotel in town that will provide an eight course breakfast to its guests.
Asked how the hotel intends to withstand the competition in Dubai, Mubeen disclosed that the strength of the hotel lies in its brand and expertise in human resources, with the employees coming from a solid hotel industry background.
The hotel is the most affordable in the heart of the city and it close proximity to Dubai International airports is its plus point, says Mansur Mehta, the hotel’s managing director and its parent company, MRL Group
He said that almost 60 per cent of the travellers at Suba’s hotels in India are repeat clientele
Mubeen disclosed that the hotel Group is also keen to expand its footprint to African continent in countries like Tanzania, Mozambique and Addis Ababa.
Mansur added that the hotel will also add more properties in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, before moving on to other GCC countries in the next two years.
Mansur disclosed that Suba Group of Hotels has already invested close to Dh10 million in its newly unveiled property that it has leased in Deira and anticipates to invest over Dh100 million in its future expansion.
He explained that the Dubai market is well saturated and there are a lot of players, and this is one of the reason why the Indian based hotel is keen to invest in the emirates and secondly, they plan to lay the ground-work to cater to the demands of the Expo 2020 as the emirate is considered as a major business hub linking major cities globally.