Interview With Somabay's CEO, Ibrahim El Missiri, on Minor Hotels Collaboration, Debuting Anantara Hotels in Egypt & Future Plans to Enhance the Luxury Tourism Sector in Egypt.

Since its inception till this day, Somabay’s ultimate vision is to establish a premier destination that redefines luxury, fosters a harmonious environment, and positions the Red Sea coast as a vital part of Egypt’s tourist attractions.

 

One of the visions of having Egypt become a globally well-renowned top-tier luxurious tourist destination, Somabay worked endlessly to make this come to fruition, with over 10 years of extensive planning, negotiating, and overcoming many unexpected hurdles along the way, Somabay managed to successfully sign with Minor Hotels, one of the most respected global hospitality leaders in the region, to debut Anantara Hotels, exclusively in Egypt. 

 

We sat down with Mr. Ibrahim El Missiri, CEO of Somabay, discussing exciting plans with Minor Hotels, their strategies when navigating market demands, their ambitious plans for the future, and their dedication to preserving the essence of the Red Sea’s breathtaking landscape while reshaping the future of luxury tourism in Egypt.

 

 

First of all, congratulations on the signing with Minor Hotels, which marks a stepping stone in making Egypt a globally recognised luxury lifestyle hub. 

First Question is, the real estate market has grown rapidly, with fierce competition constantly raising the bar. Despite this, Somabay has managed to thrive and become one of the most premium tourist destinations in the area. Can you explain your process for scanning the market to meet ever-changing demands while leveraging your extensive experience in the construction field and across various business units, including hotels and infrastructure? 

 

In short, how would you explain how your expertise in the market has helped in this very competitive real estate market?

 

The way we dealt with it, first of all, we are not really in the midst of the competition. We have a very unique location. I think we have the best location in Egypt; it’s a private peninsula, you don’t get that. 

 

We were able to establish our own position, our own standalone destination, and bring in all the attributes that we would like to develop in such a unique location.

 

And accordingly, this, of course, took time over the years. This has been in the works since the nineties, but I think it has begun to bloom.

Originally, it was just a hotel development, then it became a full mixed-use development in the last ten years, and people are now starting to see it. 

Now that it’s well established, we were able to bring in such luxury and ultra-luxury brands into the region. 

 

So, from your perspective, it’s all about the location that makes Somabay a quintessential place

 

Of course, it’s the location. We have the best plot of land in Egypt.

We have an incredible beach on the Red Sea; there are no other real beaches in the red sea, it’s all reefs, right? 

These key attributes, when people go to the Red Sea, they are looking for the perfect island; we are the island, and that’s why we are so unique. That’s our competitive advantage.

 

In real estate, all say “location, location.” Since we have the best location, then, it’s about doing the right job, putting the ingredients into the development that respects that location and really make it stand out as the hero. 

 

Since joining Somabay Company back in 2012, Somabay has become one of the Red Sea’s leading destinations. What can you tell us about the upcoming vision you wish to achieve later on?

 

Sure, I think what we are seeing now is how the region around Somabay is evolving. We’ve now all sorts of market entrants that have come around us, and they have come because of what Somabay has done in this area. 

 

What we would like to see is we would like to grow Somabay in this area. We would also like to engage in the development of Egypt’s islands, which is something that the authorities in Egypt are seeking,  and we would like to identify new locations elsewhere in Egypt, where we can develop new destinations. 

 

I think now Somabay has reached a level of maturity that it will continue to grow, and we need to enhance its uniqueness, but we also need to move on to other destinations

 

 

Everything about Somabay has been planned and executed to a tee, from its location to the amenities, hotels, restaurants, etc, while being in a national park. How do you maintain making Somabay an integral part of luxury and hospitality in the region, while also preserving the essence of Red Sea beauty and nature? 

 

We have very strict policies and procedures in construction and the timing of construction. We have to respect the things that some people might find “ridiculous,"  like “when is the turtle nesting season?” So recently, we have had the visit from the Dugong, which is something that’s only available in the extreme south of Egypt. It actually swam north and has established itself in our bay, so we have to respect nature and act accordingly and modify our behaviour to do that.

 

Plus, before any development, we usually  fence off our beaches in order to ensure that there is no damage to those areas. Why are people coming to us? They're not coming to us because we're just another hotel on the beach, or we're just another real estate development; they're coming because of the unique natural attributes, so these are the heroes we're just working around them.

 

 

Exactly, we don't sacrifice nature just because of luxury. In fact, we enhance luxury for nature. 

Exactly. 

 

So, taking into consideration the residents' demands, their journey to seek leisure and fun, Somabay has developed several apps to guide them on how to spend the day, where to go, etc. However, with the rise of AI, it has become an integral part of our daily routine. So, is there any plan to integrate AI into facilitating the residents' wants and needs? And if so, would you please give us an insight into how it's going to go?

 

Well, I think AI will integrate in everybody's business very soon. AI helps with the initial concept design. I think processes and work processes and eventually contracting, sales contracting and things like that, we would see AI venturing into that. 

 

Right now, in design reviews and construction, there are new platforms out there that use AI. We have not still evolved that, used that, or developed that yet, but I'm expecting that within the next two to three years, we'll be like everybody else, we'll be using the facilities and tools out there. 

 

So, if you're going to use AI, would it be used as something for calculating statistics, or in what way would it be used? 

 

AI can do design review, for example, shop drawings; it can do sales; it can do all sorts of things. People use it in marketing and generating videos and reels. So all of these things are available. Not just on the statistical side and analysis.

 

 

The signing of the agreement between Minor Hotels and Somabay Hotel Company to introduce the first Anantara Hotels in Egypt? Can you elaborate on how the strategic partnership with Minor Hotels aligns with Somabay's mission to become a globally recognised luxury lifestyle hub?

 

Well, I think it's like the perfect partnership. Anantara know how to develop this wellness, experience-led lifestyle.

 

Originating from Thailand, it moved into the Middle East, and we've seen it in Dubai and elsewhere. And bringing that ultra luxury, upper upscale kind of properties into the Red Sea has always been a challenge; you don't find a lot of these kinds of properties in Egypt.

 

We believe now the time is right, you know, with the privatisation of Hurghada airport and with the rise in tourism and with all the airlines that are coming in, tourists and locals wanting more luxury, like what they see when they travel.

 

So we've worked on that, and our principles have always been driving towards that vision, and we're there to make it happen, and finally, we've signed it off, so we're very excited to get going and deliver that project.

 

With Minor Hotels' rich history spanning over four decades and Somabay’s record in elevating hospitality standards and redefining luxury living, can you please elaborate on what the common grounds are that both Minor Hotels and Somabay hope to deliver in debuting Anantara Hotels in Egypt that elevate and assist in both of your visions and missions?

 

Well, our vision is basically, we are developing a luxury lifestyle destination. Minor Hotels has the brands and the hotels that they've developed around the world that deliver that luxury all over the world. So I think that's the alignment.

 

So now we have established the common grounds, can you elaborate about the difference between the two companies and how it would be utilised in making this vision come to life, in terms of planning and operation? 

 

Well, Anantara are coming to Egypt for the first time, so we have a lot of experience in operating hotels and working with operators with our six hotels that we have currently in Somabay and we're even developing another five, so we bring in the local market experience and their regional experience because our relationship with Europe as the main feeder market for tourism into the area and they bring in the services and quality and operations that made Anantara so unique in the Gulf and the Far East.

 

A part of our technical team actually worked with Alantara's technical team on projects in Qatar and the UAE, so people of a similar background, similar development and similar experiences, and we believe they will work together to bring the required standards for the project.

 

 

In what ways does Somabay see the rise of branded residences contributing to its long-term vision for luxury tourism in the region?

 

Well, I believe that branded residences, people want to own homes, but they want to take the services of the brand. We've seen that already.

 

And so I think bringing that to the Red Sea is new. It's important. It's an area where we see a lot of demand in the market. So we're going to find out once we launch and hopefully come to satisfy that.

 

Our market insight tells us that this is something that the local market wants. It's been available elsewhere in the world, but it hasn't really been made available; it’s been in Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh, so why not the Red Sea?

 

 

This collaboration with the renowned international company Minor Hotels marks an important step toward enhancing Egypt's luxury tourism sector. If you can encapsulate the significance of the signing in one sentence, what would it be?

 

I think the significance is the fact that we just brought into the Egyptian market and the Red Sea market one of the top brands in the world. Hopefully, we will deliver our promises to deliver that experience to Egypt.