Go Native keen to establish presence in the UAE market
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Having set up 17 years ago with offices in L
ondon, Manchester and Edinburgh, Go Native have created a niche for themselves in the serviced apartment segment. “Our core focus has been offering and running large corporate housing programs in terms of service apartments for the corporate segment in London and other regions of the UK,” as Ben Harper, sales and marketing director, GOnative explains to Travel Daily ME.
In London and Edinburgh alone, the company offers 450 serviced apartments. In places where there is no presence, “we work with a partner network to go and source third party supply. We do this in the UK and globally, “explains Harper.
Education on this segment is vital in order to understand the benefits resulting in lower costs and all facilities of a hotel. However Harper is optimistic saying: “We feel the awareness of the product is on the increase. Corporate and leisure travellers are looking for value and good locations. We offer what they are looking for and fit in well.”
With a strong base in the UK, Go Native is keen to expand into potential markets such as the Middle East and India. “Our key source market for business and leisure comes from within the UK. On a predominantly corporate level, the other important source market is India and this is driven through relationship with large corporates. However, our focus is to tap into the Middle East market and then move to India. We are keen to work with key tourism players in this region and identify the opportunity in terms of the distribution point of view. We will be focusing on the trade and looking to work with a number of big players. We would also be targeting the leisure family business during summer,” added Harper.
For this region, the new property in Sussex Gardens fits in well. Each floor has a different theme from contemporary to quirky. The property offers 63 rooms with a combination of studio, one and two beds across seven floors. “The key highlights of this property are the location and quality, which is very important for this region. We also have a strong security team and an on-site goNative team for any assistance required,” explained Harper.
Go Native is looking for partners in primarily in the UAE and once established, plans to expand within the India market. “The objective is to have the right partners with the maximum regional spread. We are aware of the demand from this market. We will use our biggest distribution strategy which would be to focus on the trade,” concluded Harper.
