Twenty years ago this month, Jumeirah Hotel Group ushered in a new era of luxury with the opening of the sail-shaped, ultraextravagant Burj Al Arab, which has become synonymous with modern Dubai. Today, the company is continuing to expand beyond its Middle Eastern roots, with projects that include the renovation of the Carlton London and the recent acquisition of Italy's iconic Capri Palace. Luxury editor Jeri Clausing talked with CEO Jose Silva about his vision for the brand.
Q: You've been with Jumeirah more than a year now. Are you satisfied with how things are going?
Jose Silva
A: It's almost two years. I'm glad to say that we are on schedule. ... The first thing that we wanted to do was go global as a brand. We knew that Jumeirah is a darling brand in Dubai, a darling brand of the Middle East, probably the only luxury hotel brand from the Middle East, with, of course, the Burj Al Arab. So that was already a given. So the question was, could Jumeirah go global, be a serious player in the international luxury space?
Second, what did it stand for? It can't represent Burj Al Arab to the world. So we started saying we will stand for what the brand always was. In Dubai we were always very high-end design. So architecture was always going to be central to what we do.
And thirdly ... in a very bold way I said we will be the best brand for destination dining. Last year I appointed [the Michelin Guide's former international director] Michael Ellis as chief culinary officer. Now we have six restaurants with either celebrity chefs or Michelin-star chefs. So I think we have done that already.
Q: How many hotels do you have now?
A: We have 24 hotels and 11 under construction. And we just announced the acquisition of the Capri Palace. We're investing 100 million pounds in the Carlton London. It's closed and being completely refurbished. It will open in May.
Q: What about the U.S.? Anything on the horizon there?
A: We keep on watching for opportunities in the U.S. (Note: Jumeirah did operate the Essex House in New York for a few years before the hotel's Dubai-based owners sold it; it was converted to a JW Marriott in 2012.) It's a really important market for us, obviously, as it is for anyone. We'd love to be in New York. Love to be in Miami. Love to be in L.A. But I guess it's going to be the next best opportunity for us.
Q: Aren't those very hard markets to enter?
A: They are difficult if you want to compete within the best three or five properties. In a market like New York you have to be happy to compete with the best five. In Miami you want to compete at least in the best three, because it's not as deep as New York. But to compete in the best three or best five in New York, it's not easy to get that building. That address, that building, that investment. It needs to be available. It's a question of opportunity.
But we did find quite a bit of opportunity. We did find Capri this year. We made further investments in the Maldives. So the brand is going strong globally. I think we can say that we are taking off globally.
Q: How do you pick your target properties? For instance, what is it that drew you to the Capri Palace?
A: Everyone is talking about the experience of traveling or the economy of experiences that are worth more than goods. It's one thing to say it. It's another to actually do it.
You can build a new hotel anywhere, but is that truly an experience? What's new about it? Does it have character? Does it have an anchor in the local community? Is it something that enriches, really, your traveling experience? I think Capri Palace does exactly that. It already has a two-Michelin-starred restaurant called L'Olivo and a Michelin-starred beach club. To us, the beach club is extremely important because in this area of lifestyle, social dining, social gathering, people go to restaurants to be in the crowd, to see and be seen. To mix with the local community. Anyone who is anyone in Capri, whether you are staying on a megayacht or at the hotel, you want to have lunch at the beach club. It's important for the brand to be present in lifestyle environments and environments that are community anchored, ... to have a personality of being local.
Q: How much do you plan to spend on upgrades at the Capri Palace?
A: We haven't decided that yet. ... We want to add a few more suites and a restaurant with a celebrity architect who is still going to protect what that vintage building is. Now we are impatiently awaiting costs, designs.
Q: And when might we hear of other new projects?
A: I hope that by midyear next year we can make another important announcement. The brand is moving fast for our scale. When you're at 24 and you're opening 11, you need a lot of talent to do this.