Since it was founded six years ago, Rove Hotels has emerged as one of the fastest growing hospitality brands in the Middle East. Targeting the modern travellers, the hotel comes with all facilities that today’s travellers may need. As Paul Bridger, COO of Rove Hotels tells India Outbound that his hotel group is very attractive for Indian clientele too and that most of the guests take up short stays, including monthly rental packages.

When did Rove open its first hotel? How has the journey been so far?

The Rove brand was launched in 2016 with the opening of Rove Downtown, right across the road from The Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa, in a very popular Dubai location.

Appealing to the new generation of modern travellers and digital nomads, Rove represented a departure from the traditional  hospitality offering in the region.  Since then Rove has become one of the fastest growing lifestyle hospitality brands in the region with more than 4,500 rooms operational or under development across MENA.

What are your USPs which set you apart from others?

At Rove, connectivity and a fuss-free environment where people can be themselves with all the amenities at disposal, is what defines the whole Rover experience. Whether you are travelling for business, looking for a staycation with your family, or in town to explore the city, Rove Downtown is right at the heart of it all as it’s located right next to the Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa, as well as the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Additionally, we offer plenty of convenient facilities for our Rovers (guests), such as a 24-hour convenience store, laundromat, self-parking, our very own cinema, a podcast studio, and even rooms catering to gamers!

Apart from functionality, we also like to make sure our spaces are cool and unique. As such, we work with local artists to infuse our interiors with a funky design that reflect the neighbourhoods around our hotels. All of this plus an amazing team of highly engaged and motived Rovesters (our staff) make the Rove experience unique.

You are said to be a hotel for the millennials. What do you offer them?

Rove is for the young and young at heart, we have Rovers from all ages and nationalities. Overall, we have a very diverse customer profile thanks to our accessible rates and the many locations we offer.

That said, we do have many facilities aimed at the new generation of modern travellers and digital nomads, looking for convenience and connectivity.

From comfy rooms with all the essentials, to a self-service laundromat or inspiring co-working spaces, we provide Rovers with a basecamp in the city, from where they can explore or do business from.

Another important aspect is the interactions with the community. At Rove, we keep our properties open to residents, providing them with a hub to meet and play, be it at our restaurant, our in-property cinema at Rove Downtown or by attending one of the many events we organise.

What is your client profile and from which markets do they hail?

Across our properties, our the source markets of our Rovers follow the same pattern as Dubai as a destination – with local market being quite strong, and many visitors coming from the rest of the GCC, India, CIS and Northern European countries.

However, from hotel to hotel, we see big differences in the customer profile based on the location and rate.

How big is the Indian clientele for you? How has the market grown over the past few years?

India is a key market for the UAE and for Rove Hotels it has been among the top 5 markets across the brand. During the Covid19 period we saw a dip in the number of Indian Travelers due to the imposed travel restrictions. However, as these were lifted, Indian travellers came back in great numbers.

For the Indian audience, Rove Hotels has always had a wide appeal across segments thanks to the quality of offerings provided at great value, alongside being centrally located in Dubai. Some of the Rove Hotels are in areas that are particularly popular with Indian travellers such as Rove Deira City Centre, Rove Healthcare City and Rove At The Park in Dubai Parks and Resorts.

Do people prefer Rove for long stays? What is the average duration of stay?

While our main focus as a brand is short stays, our monthly stay packages are very popular as they provide great value, flexibility and plenty of location options to choose from.

Long stays were not really new to us, as we launched the offering several years before the pandemic, however, it was the uncertainty and travel restrictions caused by the same that encouraged many people to look for affordable and flexible living options such as our long stay packages.

Our length of stay is typically around 5 nights for short stays, and 1-2 months for long stays. However, there are exceptions since we do have some Rovers which have been living in our hotels for several years now.

What kind of customers are you getting at the Expo 2020 site?

After the success of Expo 2020, our on-site hotel has remained open throughout the full summer period. With the re-opening of the Expo site, and many of the event’s popular attractions such as the Mobility and Sustainability Pavilions, we have seen a significant increase in demand, with many visitors coming back to the site, specially during weekends.

At the moment, the majority of visitors come from the local market. Residents are very proud of Expo 2020 and there is a lot of nostalgia about the event, so we see many returning to the site to enjoy again the attractions.

However, as companies from all over the world make Expo City Dubai their home, and events at Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) kick-off again, we are confident that we will see many more foreign visitors coming to the new district.

How important is sustainability for your hotel and by when do you expect to reach Net Zero?

At Rove, sustainability is an important area of focus. All our hotels have been built following strict sustainability guidelines, and we keep applying new learnings to our operations across our hotels. Some of our initiatives include 100 pc sustainable amenities, the usage of LED lights for reduced energy consumption, in-property waste segregation, recycling and much more. Additionally, we conduct regular training sessions to increase the environmental awareness of our team.

In recognition of our efforts, all Rove Hotels have received the Green Key certification, an eco-label that recognises excellence in the field of environmental responsibility, and which has been awarded to only 3,700 hotels worldwide.