Zabeel Takes Light Group Global

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Hotels' Investment Outlook
June 2008
News Update

Seeking to establish a foothold in the burgeoning Middle Eastern hospitality sector, Zabeel Investments, Dubai, has taken a 50% stake in arguably the hottest hospitality and development company going right now, The Light Group, Las Vegas. The partnership also immediately gives Zabeel a strong presence in the United States, specifically Las Vegas, where Light is the reigning king of cool.

The joint venture, announced in February, opens up the Mideast and elsewhere for development by Light. Andrew Sasson, Light's founder and owner, is quite eager to bring his company's blend of sophisticated hip and exquisite service to Dubai, a place he calls "the future of entertainment in the world." And backed by Zabeel-which is controlled by Dubai's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum-funding should not be a problem for Light's future expansion.

Indeed, the joint venture has already planned at least 11 projects for Dubai-eight F&B venues are slated for The World, plus two more on The Palm and a hotel set for Dubai Waterfront. In fact, the joint venture originated in part because Zabeel sought a management company for the Waterfront hotel, which is being built with a las vegas aesthetic in mind. Sasson says the Waterfront hotel will roughly follow the style template of Light's only other hotel management project to date, The Harmon Hotel, Spa & Residences at Las Vegas' CityCenter, set to open next year. Waterfront, which has a tentative 2011 opening date, "will be very similar to The Harmon Hotel-it will be a 5-star luxury hotel that is really for the market of today," Sasson says.

Sasson's ability to identify the here-and-now vibe is precisely why his Light Group has become one of Las Vegas' great success stories. His clubs at MGM Mirage properties on the strip-The Bank Nightclub and Caramel Lounge and Bar at Bellagio, Jet Nightclub and Bare Pool Lounge at The Mirage and Mist Lounge at Treasure Island-are among the hottest hotspots in Sin City. On the F&B front, Light runs five lauded Strip dining experiences-Fix Restaurant & Bar and Yellowtail at Bellagio, Stack Restaurant & Bar at The Mirage, and Diablo's Cantina and Brand at Monte Carlo.

With each project, Sasson's goal is the same: combine the cutting-edge style of Ian Schrager with the impeccable service and quality of Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental. Many hospitality companies concentrate on either creating the coolest scene or perfecting outstanding service, but few have been able to merge the two with quite the same deft touch as Sasson. "Other companies try to be cool and hip and get lost in service," he says. "In my 20s, it's cool to stay in a Schrager hotel; but in my 30s, I understand service, and that's why I stay in a Four Seasons. But that doesn't have the kind of interior design or the atmosphere that I want."

Sasson says the 5-star Harmon Hotel, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, "will be the most amazing hotel in all of North America, if not the world"-and he says it like he genuinely believes it. His goal is to eventually place Light hotels in every major city in the world, including targeting Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City and Atlantic City in the short term. He also plans to grow the F&B side as well, perhaps exporting some of the restaurant brands established in Las Vegas. "The sky is the limit for us," Sasson says. "We would like to expand as quickly as possible, without taking down what we do." Within locales, Sasson wants sites in city center entertainment districts.

Additionally, Light has been tasked with master-planning a residential development on Blackadore Caye. The uninhabited 104-acre (42-ha) island in Belize, which is owned by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, is also slated to include a Four Seasons property and a private airstrip.

For its part, the two-year-old Zabeel-which aims to become a premier hospitality developer throughout the emirates, in trendy F&B and luxury lodging-boasts a Dubai portfolio valued at US$4.1 billion that includes Tiara Residence on The Palm Jumeirah, Tiara United Towers amd America Hotels & Resorts in Tatweer's Bawadi development.