Mohammed Hanif, founder of The Manor by JA, says the hotel is run entirely by Emiratis and offers local hospitality with an eco-friendly twist
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Read the full story: https://bit.ly/2DqQ8Ns
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
#Dubai #hotel #Emirati
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NewsTranscript
00:00Since the beginning of the project, it is a mandate from, or it has been a vision of
00:11Sheikh Mohammed Barashid to have an increased importance of sustainability and sustainable
00:15buildings.
00:16So as soon as we started, we knew that the regulations are changing and builders or contractors
00:23must adapt to, in this area at least, to 23% reduction of energy.
00:31We started with that mandate, which was by the regulator, and with time, we noticed that
00:37the more we invest in sustainability, the better it is for the business.
00:41So even though the threshold is 23%, we invested almost $500,000 to get it to around 40% energy
00:49saving.
00:51The process started in 2017, starting from the cooling system, the ACs, the type of windows,
00:57the lighting, the LED lighting, if you notice now, most of the lights here are LED, which
01:01are very, very efficient.
01:03The biggest factor, of course, is the windows, so they are tinted windows.
01:08The aluminum is the kind that would not allow heat to enter the building, which makes the
01:15AC efficiency higher.
01:18The biggest challenge is, of course, with the ACs in this part of the world, so making
01:24sure that the AC works and is efficient is the main factor.
01:37It has been one of the wisest decisions, we can see that reflected in our bills, and during
01:42these challenging times, it has been making a difference for us.
01:45With the challenges of the current year of COVID-19, maintaining the cost has been very
01:52important, and without that investment, we would have seen ourselves spending more, not
01:57being able to sustain the cost in a better way.
02:05This is our biggest project yet, so the learning curve was quite steep, we had to learn on
02:10the job, but as soon as we saw that investing in sustainability would benefit the business,
02:17we did not hesitate, and we went beyond the regulation.
02:29The true Emirati experience sadly hasn't been showcased in Dubai, most of the hotels are
02:35international, that's a good thing.
02:37Whenever we are focusing on the Arabian hospitality, we make sure that the hotel is an extension
02:43of the Emirati home.
02:44If you can see, the coffee shop is an Emirati-branded coffee shop, the suites are Emirati suites.
02:49It's the Arabian hospitality, it goes over and beyond.
02:51It comes naturally when it's an Emirati-owned business, and an Emirati GM, and an Emirati
02:56operator.
02:57It's something that comes with that mix of partners working together.