Travel And Tour World: Give us an overview of Kerten Hospitality’s projects globally?

Antony Doucet: We are a mixed-use, ESG and lifestyle operator managing and operating hotels, branded residences, serviced apartments, workspaces that are more of business/social hubs. We transform destinations through impactful collaborations both with our own and other branded Food & Beverage, Retail, Entertainment, Art and Wellness brands with a focus on building Ecosystems. We are community-centric organization and implement that mindset in each of our projects.

We manage a portfolio of 12 owned brands including: Cloud7 Hotel and Residence, The House Hotel and Residence, Ouspace – a collaborative Social and Business Hub and serviced offices concept. We also have a suite of in-house designed and operated Food & Beverage offerings and employs and collaborates with world renowned Michelin chefs to up and coming local food-preneurs.

Travel And Tour World: Following your participation at Arabian Travel Market 2022, did your expectations meet the experience at the biggest regional forum.

Antony Doucet: I noticed that there seems to have been pent-up demand for the industry to connect, talk and charter new directions that the modern and purposeful traveller asks of us to do. There were representatives from far and wide with portfolios ranging from the classical hotel experience and standards, to eco bungalows in trees and elephant sanctuaries for glamping. One observation I made at the event- every proposition or destination was trying to provide Experiences and this is where the future lies.

Travel And Tour World: Tell us about the sustainability and responsible tourism approach of the properties listed under Kerten Hospitality?

Antony Doucet: We have an ESG-focused ethos across all our operations and pipeline of developments. As a team we live and breathe sustainable solutions and we always try to embrace them ourselves and educate our guests as well.

Travel And Tour World: What are the countries you target and what kind of guests do you want to welcome and host?

Antony Doucet: We are growing extensively in the places where our brands, projects, lifestyle approach an commitment to deliver RoI to owners are already visible and present. This is where we continue to add new projects. Apart form that we are expanding in Saudi Arabia, Europe, Georgia and across the GCC countries.

Travel And Tour World: Tell us about your expansion plan in the future.

Antony Doucet: We are growing across our portfolio adding inventory to existing projects or entering new turfs and are currently exploring projects in countries like Portugal, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. We are in discussions with eco resort owners who seek a more sustainable and tailored proposition for guests that can cater to the local residents alike and not just to travellers.

Travel And Tour World: What are the marketing strategies you have taken to promote your properties?

Antony Doucet: We stay away from classical marketing promotion campaigns. With us it is always about FOMO marketing created by our visitors, guests and partners or collaborators. Being ESG focused and community-centric means that anything we do we do in collaboration with the community.

Marketing our properties means marketing our neighbourhoods and showing the local farms, the local producers, suppliers, handmade jewellery makers or farmers. We are an Ecosystem and we show it in all that we do.

Travel And Tour World: How Kerten Hospitality is working to produce more incentive-centric travel for MICE tourism? 

Antony Doucet: We contribute to MICE in a meaningful way by trying to integrate OUSPACE, our collaborative workspace social-business hub, in all our projects in order to meet the demand in this sector of the industry.

We curate hybrid spaces and design meeting rooms that don’t look like classical meeting rooms but resemble more of a multi-functional event space for bleisure travellers.