The 7 Magic Steps That Made The WB Abu Dhabi Hotel A Reality ( Part 1/2)

There is a famous saying I’m reminded of every day; “A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all”.?

There is no doubt that business is about generating sustainable financial returns, but this cannot be achieved without a happy customer or client.?

There are many ways to achieve this. whether a problem-solving approach for our customers or immersing them in a unique experience that brings them joy.?At Miral, we strive for both!

In 2006, Abu Dhabi’s wise leadership set a clear vision for Yas Island to become a global entertainment, leisure and business destination that would entice and attract people from home and abroad. During this time a period of great transformation has been made, developing iconic assets that are recognisable all over the world, including multiple world firsts and record-breaking experiences, such as the Grand Prix racetrack, theme parks, and hospitality offerings.

From 2016, this visionary blueprint started to flourish via partnerships with global brands and collaboration with some of the best tourism peers in the business.?

We were determined to put Yas Island on the world map. In quick succession we added 1 theme park, a unique sports attraction as well as 1,000 hotel rooms to accommodate future visitor demand. This was alongside announcing other world-class attractions that would be built on the island.?

In 2018, we opened Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest indoor theme park, another addition to our collection of immersive attractions, including Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi.???

This momentum set the stage for another world first - The WB?Abu Dhabi, the first ever Warner Bros. themed hotel and part of the Curio Collection by Hilton. This decision to bring the hotel to Yas Island was founded in 2017, and, as with any unprecedented move, there was no trodden path to follow. We forged our own.?

I want to take you on this journey, sharing with you the seven magic steps for success.

Step 1 - Bringing Giants Together:?At the?conceptualisation?stage, this project required a herculean effort to bring three giants of entertainment and hospitality together. We were about to award Hilton, the operations of the now Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, but we decided to add two other hotels; the WB Abu Dhabi hotel and DoubleTree by Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island Residences, to this contract, aiming to create one efficient cluster team to manage the three hotels.

After a full year of negotiations, we finally did it! We signed a tri-party agreement that included all Hilton managed hotels. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” as they say.?

Step 2 – Theming a First: The first challenge was the degree to which we would theme the hotel. We had at our disposal an archive that is rich in history, and a library of timeless productions to select from. The options, as you would imagine, were vast! Ranging from a classic fully themed design to no theme at all, and everything in between. After many discussions with our long-time partner Warner Bros., we all knew we wanted something that was contemporary and achieved the “the perfect balance” with Warner Bros.' rich history and legacy of timeless storytelling, AND, this was the decision that we all agreed to make, the perfect theming for the world’s first!?

Step 3 – Selecting the Designer: Like a lot of new builds, ideation and business practicalities in the UAE, we’re always trying to strike the balance between local knowledge with global insight. For this, we had to choose between hiring an international consultant or a UAE-based agency. The former might struggle with the cultural nuances or fail to understand our customers’ needs on this side of the world. The latter, on the other hand, might struggle to understand our partner’s expectations. It wasn’t an easy decision.

I still remember the meeting we were in. It was 8pm, the room was in a deadlock, with one group favouring an international consultant and the other rooting for a UAE-based one. The debate was long, but we finally selected the UAE-based consultant. We made the right decision.

Working with a design agency is always an exciting prospect. They bring creativity and life to a concept, and it is a process we take very seriously, not least because our Chairman, who is a visionary leader, is also an artist. To ensure total buy in, we decided to create a full mockup of a room and corridor for the Chairman’s feedback and approval.?

As an example, this process is why you see a white hotel fa?ade today, which was switched last minute from an initial multicolour proposal. Again, the right choice was made in line with the contemporary feel and providing a backdrop that offsets the colourful imagery and screens that are now set to bedazzle visitors.

Step 4 – Business Acumen: Between 2013 and 2015, the hotel industry in the UAE was experiencing a bumper period. Then suddenly, in 2016 the oil price sunk, reaching a low depth of US$27 per barrel. In tandem, the Russian Ruble halved in value. This naturally resulted in some caution, so we reviewed the business model and projections we had originally formulated, deciding to reduce both the planned hotel occupancy and the average daily rates. While putting the project on hold was an option, we had an unwavering belief in the development. We marched on!

The economics had to work, so we decided to find cost savings without compromising on quality. We wanted our partner fully on board. I knew I had to travel to Los Angeles to discuss this face to face with Warner Bros., who as staunch supporters of Yas Island and our vision, firmly backed our plan.

We decided to review the size of the hotel. We had initially earmarked 450 rooms, but we went back to first principles. Our target customers for this hotel are families, coming from the GCC (especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), and from Western markets. We decided to split the hotel into two distinct parts with a smaller conventional hotel offering with standard rooms, and also serviced apartments for those seeking more privacy and bigger space.

That’s not all folks!???In part two I will be taking you through the final magic steps we journeyed to open the doors to The WB?Abu Dhabi, stay tuned!