DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Same name, different brand.
That’s how Matt Balcik described Jumeirah Group’s contemporary lifestyle brand, Venu, which was launched again Tuesday after an earlier announcement in April 2010.
“At the time, due to the global economy, we had shelved that. Since then, a lot has changed,” said Balcik, Jumeirah’s VP of operations and brand development.
“That Venu brand back then was a lot different from what we were offering today,” he said.
Balcik, who is charged with rolling out Venu globally, said the initial iteration was more static, boasting an art-inspired aesthetic that did not necessarily complement the fluid nature of its clientele. The new Venu allows guests to customize their experiences on property.
“If you come to just chill out and listen to some great Venu music that will be curated specifically for our customer and our public spaces, you can do that. If you want to socialize and mingle, we will have that type of environment. If you want to be productive and jump on your laptop and just be close to this great buzz and environment, you should be able to do that as well,” Balcik said.
Jumeirah’s June 2010 announcement for its first Venu deal for the now defunct Venu Himalayas Hotel Shanghai described the property as “a 400 key art-themed hotel, including 70 luxury suites, standing at the heart of an arts and lifestyle hub, the Himalayas Centre.”
That spirit is reflected in the brand’s simple logo. Future marketing messaging will be built around alternative takes on that blank canvas, reflecting guests’ ability to “write their own story,” Balcik said.
Development details
That storytelling is slated to begin in Dubai with the first Venu hotel on Bluewaters Island. Jumeirah has tapped Dubai-based Meraas Holding to lead the development and is in the final phase of signing that deal.
“That relationship might grow into something bigger and better,” Balcik said.
Executives are in discussions with “several others” in Dubai and “a couple” in the Asia/Pacific region, he added. The goal is for 25 Venu hotels within 10 years.
Existing conversations center on management contracts. “However,” Balcik said, “if the right opportunity comes along, the right location, we might also own a hotel or two.”
The approach mirrors that of the luxury Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts brand, with the parent company owning and operating a select few in Dubai and operating the others in its global portfolio.
Details about the projects and planned opening dates will be released later this year, according to a news release.
Most of the projects are for new builds, although one discussion surrounds a potential conversion, Balcik said.
Executives are targeting urban locations in cities such as Shanghai, London and Berlin.
“Because of the personality of the brand, we want to it to be the social catalyst, the social hub,” Balcik said.
Complementing the customer
“We’re honing on the millennial mindset,” Balcik said of the brand’s target customer.
“When they travel, they like to identify themselves within the space, within the brand that they’re experiencing. This could be via the design as they walk into the space. ‘Wouldn’t that be nice in my living room?’ or ‘I have something like that in my living room already,’” he said.
Venu will leverage the operational expertise of its sister Jumeirah brand to provide high-quality service at a more affordable price point. Balcik declined to comment publically on Venu’s projected star rating or chain-scale segment.
A key element of the service culture will be intuition, he said.
“We need to have the pulse of that group of people and our workers. We need to stay in touch with what they do, what they like and how they like it. Currently, they’re telling us, ‘Pamper me, but leave me alone.’”
Keeping tabs of guests will allow Venu’s management team to adapt continually to their changing needs. The brand will remain somewhat flexible in that regard, Balcik said, meaning in four years Venu could evolve once more.