Luxury hotel group Jumeirah's chief executive officer Gerald Lawless has given further insight into why Bermuda has been chosen as the ideal base for the Dubai-based company to create a noticeable presence in the Americas.

Although Jumeirah already runs a hotel in New York, the proposed Jumeirah Southlands five-star resort, which will feature a land-bridge over South Road linking the north and south portions of the 37-acre Southlands estate, will be of a design and size more in line with its more unusual and stunning properties such as the towering, sail-like Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai.

Planning permission for the resort is still be decided, but if given the go-ahead the first phase is likely to be completed by late 2008 and the entire resort by late 2010. In a question-and-answer interview by e-mail, Mr. Lawless has explained more of the vision for Bermuda.

Q: Is this a boom time for new luxury hotels around the world?

A: The international tourism and hospitality industry is doing exceptionally well at the moment and the investment climate is very healthy. This in turn, provides great opportunities for luxury hospitality management groups such as Jumeirah to expand their portfolios world-wide.

At Jumeirah we aim to grow our portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts to 57 by 2011 and this expansion will mainly be through the acquisition of management contracts in key gateway cities and resort destinations world-wide.

Bermuda is a prime example and an ideal fit for our portfolio and we are very proud to have been appointed as the management company for the Jumeirah Southlands Resort in Bermuda.

Q. Fifty percent of the Southlands resort will be fractional ownership. Is this a normal percentage for Jumeirah or something specific to Bermuda? Why does it have such importance in Bermuda?

A: It is important to have a good balance within the resort, which is driven by many factors. The fractional ownership side of the resort needs to be supported by the hotel and the hotel in turn, needs to be able to sustain itself.

In this particular project it was deemed that the 50/50 split would be ideal and most beneficial to Bermuda and the hotel. There is great demand in the market to own a fractional unit in Bermuda and with it's location just under two hours away from the US East Coast, the Jumeirah Southlands Resort is an ideal location for fractional ownership.

Q: Is fractional ownership demand growing within the leisure/tourism industry as a whole or is it more niche market?

A: We believe that fractional ownership is in demand and that it is a growing segment. Fractional ownership has many advantages. A lot of people these days want to 'own' the real estate, but won't, can't or don't want to use it year round. Fractional ownership will give them an opportunity to use the real estate for eight weeks a year and enjoy it without having to worry about maintenance, cleaning etc.

Q: How does Jumeirah select where it will enter new markets and how did Bermuda come to feature in its plans?

A: As stated above, we aim to grow our portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts to 57 by 2011 and this expansion will mainly be through the acquisition of management contracts in key gateway cities and resort destinations world-wide.

Following our successful entry into the North American Market last year with the management of the Jumeirah Essex House in New York, we look forward to many other exciting development opportunities in the Americas.

In terms of key gateway cities we would look at markets such as Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Boston, Miami and resort destinations including Hawaii, the Caribbean and Mexico.

Q: How has Jumeirah managed to grow in size and reputation so quickly?

A: The company was first established with the opening of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in 1997. The hotel set a new standard in the hospitality industry, which was recognised by Conde Nast Traveller in 1999 when Jumeirah Beach Hotel won two prestigious awards: Number one hotel in the world and best leisure hotel.

After the opening of Jumeirah Beach Hotel we opened Wild Wadi Water Park, the Beit Al Bahar Villas and Burj Al Arab in 1999 and Jumeirah Emirates Towers in April 2000.

In 2000, we also took over the management of the Jumeirah Beach Club Resort and Spa and the World Trade Centre Hotel from Hilton and in 2001 we expanded internally for the first time with the assumption of the management of the Jumeirah Carlton Tower and the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in London.

In October 2001, The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management took in its first batch of students and in 2003 we opened Mina A' Salam as the first phase of Madinat Jumeirah, followed by the opening of the complete resort in the summer of 2004. That same year, we also opened Jumeirah's first desert resort, Jumeirah Bab Al Shams.

We became part of Dubai Holding in December 2004 and through the synergies with other member entities of Dubai Holding, such as Dubai Investment Group, Sama Dubai and Dubai Properties we have been able to accelerate the company growth.

When we re-branded the company in June 2005 from Jumeirah International to Jumeirah, we also announced our ambitious expansion plans to grow our portfolio of luxury hotels and resorts to 57 by 2011.

The quality level associated with the hospitality service delivery in Dubai has gained an international reputation of the past number of years and international investors are now considering brands like Jumeirah to be viable and credible alternative operators to the existing US and Asian hotel management companies.

We are building one of the strongest luxury brands in the world at the moment, and our global advertising campaign, which started in 2006, shows that we are very committed to doing so. The 'Stay Different' campaign represents a significant multi-million dollar investment for Jumeirah, and we are confident that through this initiative we will generate huge added awareness of the Jumeirah brand to luxury travellers, and to luxury hotel investors around the world.

Q: Has the potential threat of hurricanes affected the design of the Southlands? If so, in what way?

A: Extensive wind studies were done for the resort and consultants and experts have been consulted on minimising the potential impact of possible hurricanes in the region.