South African Facilitates Building Luxury Hotels in Dubai

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(DUBAI, UAE) -- Gerhard van Rooyen is a 33 year old South African who has been working in Dubai for the past five years. He came here after a spell in the Maldives with the same company, MLC Quantity Surveyors. As a surveyor and member of MLC International, a company specializing in hotel and leisure development, he has been involved in many prestigious developments in Dubai.

"We usually get involved at the project inception stage where we assist the client in developing a clear project brief and budget," van Rooyen explained. "During this initial phase of the project we prepare estimates and design reviews at various stages of development to ensure viability of design whilst closely monitoring the budget." 

Once the initial budget has been verified, the company gets involved in finding the construction companies and suppliers. "We also manage the procurement stage which involves compiling tender documentation, tendering / negotiating and evaluating the tenders," he said.

MLC through "regular cost review meetings with the client" makes sure that the client is fully informed of all financial and contractual matters "until the project is handed over to the operator and final accounts are agreed with all contracting parties," which provides an extra level of safety.

Interestingly, van Rooyen said that projects from idea to completion tend to go faster in the GCC. "Most projects in this region are fast track developments which tend to reduce the pre-contract period.  Also a lot of lump sum / turnkey contracts are used in which the contractor gets involved during the initial design stages to share expertise and support the design team in this critical phase of the project."

Speed is gained at the beginning where there may be less hesitation in getting started. "I do find that the overall cycle time and decision making period of developments are slightly faster; however, compared to other regions I've worked in, the actual productive time spent on the project is more or less the same with slightly less time allocated to the tendering period, van Rooyen concluded.
 
As a South African, van Rooyen likes to work for companies that have similar roots. There are a few South African hotel developers and operators currently working in the Middle East. "We have worked with Southern Sun Hotel Group on the Al Manzil and Quamardeen Hotels in Downtown Dubai," he said.  MLC was involved in the development of the One & Only Royal Mirage, and "we have recently completed the One & Only Hotel on Palm Jumeirah, which I have been intimately involved in for the last five years." The international brand One and Only was founded by South African luxury hotel and casino magnate Sol Kerzner.

MLC has been involved with major hotel and commercial projects in Dubai including the Madinat Jumeirah resort, Old Town Commercial Island mixed use development, The Address Hotel Downtown Dubai, Bab Al Shams, and Park Hyatt Dubai Creek.  "And, the One & Only Royal Mirage,' van Rooyen added.

However, he has been working mostly on the Palm Jumeirah where his "focus for the last five years in Dubai was the One and Only The Palm," He did also assist during tendering stage of the Address Hotel and various stages of Laguna Tower Development for IFA Hotels and Resorts.

For thirteen years MLC has been based and working in Dubai. It's a sign of the times that the firm not long ago opened a branch in Abu Dhabi to better service the work with the St. Regis Hotel on Saadiyat Island and the Four Seasons Abu Dhabi on Sowwah Island.
   
Van Rooyen said, "I personally have also recently started working on projects in Abu Dhabi and do believe that I will be visiting Abu Dhabi more frequently in the future, and it's only a matter of time before I'll be joining the early morning migration to Abu Dhabi.  I do, however, still prefer, for the foreseeable future, to keep my accommodation in Dubai."
 
Looking at the hospitality industry in the UAE today, van Rooyen sees a gap in the market. "In the present economic climate," he says, "I believe that hotel developers, especially in Dubai, should focus on 3 star and affordable 4 star developments to help sustain the growth in tourism and further economic development. In the long term, especially looking at Abu Dhabi's 2030 Vision, I believe that there is still a market for high end
developments."

As an expert, he likes to evaluate the state of current hotel architecture in the UAE. "There are very interesting hotel designs in the UAE, a lot of which I believe is part of the 'bigger and better' mentality in the region.  All hotel groups have their own design criteria which are further regulated by design guidelines from tourism industry; however, these are mostly - not always - more functional than visual guidelines."

After five years here, he does have a favorite project: One & Only The Palm on Palm Jumeirah. "I have been passionately involved in the development of this project," van Rooyen said.  "This is the second One & Only Hotel that I've been involved in." Before coming to Dubai, he worked in the Maldives, developing One & Only Reethi Rah. 

"Having had the opportunity to visit and stay in a few One and Only Resorts," van Rooyen is a booster. "I'm really impressed with the brand and their sense of place.  One and Only the Palm will for sure raise the bar for luxury hotel developments in this region."

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