{"id":394,"date":"2016-01-03T02:46:30","date_gmt":"2016-01-02T19:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/emaar-brand-faces-uphill-battle-after-the-address-downtown-dubai-fire\/"},"modified":"2016-01-03T13:49:48","modified_gmt":"2016-01-03T06:49:48","slug":"emaar-brand-faces-uphill-battle-after-the-address-downtown-dubai-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/emaar-brand-faces-uphill-battle-after-the-address-downtown-dubai-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Emaar brand faces uphill battle after The Address Downtown Dubai fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nThe New Year\u2019s Eve fire at The Address Downtown Dubai hotel has left its owner, Emaar Properties, with a task ahead to avoid any damage to its brand that might follow the negative publicity it generated worldwide.Dubai itself, though receiving widespread praise locally for the manner in which the civil authorities dealt with the blaze, also has negative coverage to counter after the skyscraper blaze, even if some of it may have been unwarranted.
\n\u201cThis is an accident that happened and an investigation needs to play its role, but there has been a lot of speculative sensationalisation by the media,\u201d said Gaurav Sinha, the founder and head of Insignia Worldwide, a brand consultant specialising in tourism.\u201cThe first thing that needs to be done is to separate the incident from the brand and get out ahead of the story,\u201d he says.The investigation into the cause of the fire is under way but there have been no indications so far that the source of the fire was anything other than accidental.
\nStill, with scant information offered early on, the coverage in international media included unfounded speculation about terrorist involvement.Thus, CNN during its live broadcast coverage of the fire ran a banner speculating on a potential terrorist angle, while a security expert was interviewed on that speculation.It was a juxtaposition many other media followed, including Al Jazeera, which used the dramatic images of the hotel ablaze to illustrate a story under the headline \u201cTerror alert and fires disrupt New Year\u2019s celebrations\u201d.
\nAnother criticism widely levelled \u2013 not just by media but also individuals commenting on the Dubai Government\u2019s own Twitter feed and other social media \u2013 was typified by a story in The New York Times: \u201cTo the astonishment of many observers, including viewers around the world following live coverage of the fire, the government proceeded with a lavish fireworks display at midnight, even as the blaze continued.\u201d
\nThe Government tried to make it clear that it was the prudent course of action \u2013 CNN\u2019s security expert praised the decision as necessary to avoid any panicked dispersal of the huge crowd gathered to see the fireworks display, which might have disrupted the efforts of the first responders dealing with the fire. But the message was lost amid images sent around the world of the fireworks next to the blazing tower.
\nYesterday the Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar said the company\u2019s immediate priority was ensuring the safety of the hotel\u2019s guests and colleagues.\u201cWe evacuated all of them safely in record time, in a most orderly fashion,\u201d he said. Another long-term issue for Dubai and its major property companies is the widespread coverage of the fact that the hotel fire was the third Dubai skyscraper fire in as many years, with a number of experts pointing to deficient materials that were banned in 2013 but still are present in many of the city\u2019s buildings.
\n\u201cWe develop our projects to the highest standards of quality and as per international best practices,\u201d said Mr Alabbar, adding that the hotel has set \u201cworld-class benchmarks in the hospitality industry\u201d.Emaar is \u201cdetermined to restore the building to all its glory and even surpass the splendid architectural standards. Further timelines and plans will be shared as they are finalised,\u201d Mr Alabbar confirmed.
\nDubai has positioned itself as a safe, family-friendly destination and it is in the middle of plans to expand its tourism offering, with new theme parks including Legoland, Bollywood Parks and Motiongate.It is important that tourist authorities as well as Emaar \u2013 one of Dubai\u2019s major hospitality operators \u2013 are proactive in dealing with aftermath of the fire, Mr Sinha says.\u201cHow effective you are at communicating post-crisis plays a significant role in its impact,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s about agility, clarity, transparency \u2013 it is the only thing you can do to counterbalance\u201d the negative aspects of the story that already are widespread in the public perception.
\nEmaar faces a major test today when the Dubai stock exchange opens for trading for the first time since the fire. Its shares ended the year at Dh5.69, down 20 per cent since the start of the year and 45 per cent below their highs in autumn 2014, when the oil price slump began to weigh on many Dubai companies.Mr Alabbar added: \u201cWe derive new learnings from such events, which reinforce our resilience to be a company that is committed to add to the prestige and reputation of Dubai and create long-term value to all our stakeholders.\u201d
\nThe weak share price has come despite rising profit. Emaar Properties reported that profit in the three months to the end of September rose to Dh843 million from Dh645m a year earlier. But investors were expecting more, and the share price weakness has been attributed by market analysts to the perception that tourism is slowing down and residential rents are under pressure.amcauley@thenational.aeFollow The National\u2019s Business section on Twitter
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\nSource : thenational.ae
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