THE Fairmont DubAi Sales Team Delivers Opening MESSAGE to Emirates’ Business Houses and Trade Partners

 - 34- STOREY HOTEL ON SCHEDULE FOR EARLY 2002 OPENING -

With all main interior work complete and signage in place, The Fairmont Dubai sales team hit the streets of the emirates' ( United Arab Emirates ), to carry a ‘February doors open’ message to business houses and travel partners in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai .



The twelve-strong sales team knocked on more than 2,000 doors in the week long sales mission aimed at cementing community relationships and securing room nights for next spring : “More than 70 per cent of corporate bookings into Dubai hotels are booked from the emirate itself, so corporate relationships are key,” said Stephen Banks, the hotel’s recently appointed regional director of sales & marketing.



Banks, a veteran hotelier with sound regional experience under his belt, led his sales team in the blitz armed with details of the unique sales features of the hotel which accepts its first guests on February 2 next year – or 02.02.02, as the team has dubbed the opening day.



The multi-purpose hotel, residential and office complex is located in Dubai’s burgeoning business district, opposite the emirate’s World Trade Centre, exhibition halls and the area earmarked for construction of a world-standard convention centre.



Pedestrian access to the exhibition and convention complex is provided by a walkway – The Fairmont Walkway – over the Sheikh Zayed Road , a bonus for hotel guests and the first such overhead crossing to open.



According to Banks, it will play a role as the venue “where Dubai , and the rest of the region do business.”



“The Fairmont Dubai will be a landmark facility,” he said. “In fact, the hotel’s architecture has already done well to assist the landmark distinction due to its “Barajeel” design, based on a traditional wind tower.”



He added that The Fairmont Dubai aims to bring ‘a mix of heritage and cutting edge hospitality to Dubai , offering service standards and deluxe interiors that will stand above the competition’.



The 34-storey, 393 room hotel comprises extensive business and leisure features – including 128 suites as well as its premium Fairmont Gold ‘hotel within a hotel’; 12 restaurants and lounges; a 40,000 sq ft spa and health club with gym, treatment rooms, saunas and Jacuzzis, and a dedicated aerobics area, plus a rooftop sundeck with two hand-crafted mosaic-lined pools.



For business guests, The Fairmont Dubai has a dedicated 2nd-floor business centre – The Fairmont Exchange – with 40 work-stations and feature rooms equipped with “smart walls”, electronic whiteboards, VCR capabilities and complete audio systems. In addition, the 33rd floor auditorium has 224 ergonomic seats with power and high speed Internet access, as well as rear screen projection and the latest technology. There are also 18 executive rooms with Italian designed furnishings available for use as personal boardrooms or executive offices.



For longer-stay visitors, the hotel complex also includes 115 two- and three-bedroom furnished apartments for lease.



Banks confirmed that he is working closely with Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, tourism partners, and neighbouring businesses and hotels to further consolidate Sheikh Zayed Road as a centre for international business and conferences: “In addition to our role catering to the needs of the business traveller, we also take pride in being known as a hub for local gatherings. We are at the heart of the community here in Dubai .”



Dubai (the cosmopolitan, commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates ) is the flagship international destination for Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts as it embarks on expansion outside of the Americas .



The Fairmont Dubai project represents the first step in a strategic alliance between the private office of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to build and operate a number of luxury hotels in the region, and elsewhere.