Jumeirah, the global luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding, has announced plans to launch its new contemporary lifestyle brand, Venu.

The brand has been designed to appeal to the modern traveller whose expectations revolve around their own lifestyle – clean, contemporary, cool and effortless, said a statement from the group.

Venu is inspired by the spirit of Dubai: bold, ambitious, energetic and cosmopolitan, infused with a can-do attitude and a powerful blend of style and substance. This is reflected in the design of the new brand’s logo.

It will operate as an independent brand under the Jumeirah Group, targeting travellers with a passion for simplicity, style, efficiency and effortless living and working, it added.

Speaking at the launch, Nicholas Clayton, CEO Group Operations at Jumeirah Group, said it was already in talks with Dubai-based developer Meraas Holding to operate the first Venu hotel on Bluewaters Island in Dubai, UAE.

Discussions are also under way with a number of developers in the Middle East, Asia and Europe for the Venu brand, he revealed.  

"This is a genuinely exciting innovation for Jumeirah Group. The time is right for us to launch a new contemporary lifestyle brand. Its provenance and energy comes from Dubai – and the first few Venu hotels will open here – but it is ultimately a powerful way of taking the core essence of the Dubai out into the international market, reflecting the city’s energy, dynamism and cosmopolitan nature" remarked Clayton.

"At the same time, coming to a Venu hotel will be an intuitive experience, built around and anticipating the needs of the modern, savvy traveller," he added.

The Jumeirah group has appointed Matt Balcik, a Turkish/American national as its new VP (Operations), Brand Development, and has been given responsibility for the roll-out of Venu internationally.

Balcik has 18 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, having worked in Turkey, Washington DC, Sydney, Aruba, US Virgin Islands, New Orleans and Newport Beach, California.

His most recent position was as general manager of the W Hotel in Istanbul. Prior to that, he held a number of senior roles working for well-known hotel brands such as Marriott and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, including general manager of the Westin Virgin Islands and the Westin Aruba.

He also has extensive brand development experience having spent three years as the global brand advocate and corporate director of operations for Renaissance Hotels.

Welcoming Balcik, Clayton said: "His multi-brand background, together with strong operations experience, makes him the ideal candidate to spearhead the introduction and roll-out of our new contemporary lifestyle brand to the market."

"Under Balcik’s leadership, we want travellers to be inspired by the energy of the Venu brand - to feel that they are encountering something completely new, where technology is seamlessly integrated into the hotel experience, where the world comes together – a happening place full of energy and a cosmopolitan crowd," he added.-TradeArabia News Service