Carlton Hotels & Suites was established in 1977 with the launch of Carlton Tower Hotel in Deira, Dubai’s first five-star hotel. This small investment in the emirate mushroomed into a multinational hospitality brand recognized for excellence and sophistication. Today, the Carlton Hotels & Suites brand extends throughout the Middle East and Europe, and is characterized by luxury and comfort and world-class service. Starting from humble beginnings, the group has evolved into a group that has 9 directly managed hotels and 3 franchise-operated properties, all offering guests unforgettable hospitable experiences. Its headquarters are located on Sheikh Zayed Road, behind the iconic Burj Khalifa, set once more as the standard of luxury hotel excellences in this region.

It was then when hospitality in Dubai started changing with the opening of Carlton Tower Hotel in 1977, marking the city’s first 5-star property. The land-mark hotel based at the heart of Deira became a springboard for Carlson in hospitality. Carlson Hotels & Suites has aggressively expanded its offerings by increasing its presence in some of the biggest markets across the Middle East and Europe over the years. Today, it runs 12 hotels across 3 countries in the Asia-Africa-Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific regions, accounting for 1,156 hotel rooms. The most recent upcoming asset by the chain will be Carlton Dubai Creek, which is scheduled to launch in 2022.

Carlton Hotels & Suites is owned by First Investor LLC, part of the Al Fardan Group of Holdings, which boasts more than 25 years of experience as a global investment company. Under their leadership, Carlton Hotels has thrived. However, in 2017, the group made one great stride ahead with the Carlton Downtown Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road. Housed in one of Dubai’s twin buildings famous worldwide, this property raised the standing of the brand to another level. The Carlton Downtown Hotel has gained international acclaim for striking structure and premier comforts. This ranks among the top 30 tallest hotels in the world; its rooftop, open-air pool, and views of the Dubai skyline make it one of the highest open-air rooftops for visitors.

What Carlton Downtown is famous for is its lavish Ramadan celebrations. In 2017, a global news discussion was sparked by placing the world’s tallest Ramadan tent on the hotel’s premises. This highly captivated locals and tourists alike as a point of interest. As such, the luxurious Ramadan celebrations became an annual affair, attracting visitors to the hotel from all corners of the globe.

Carlton Hotels & Suites is success story for its bright delivery of excellent service and hospitality. Expanding a company, the corporation continues to be consistent in delivering excellence in all aspects of operations. The Hotelier Middle East magazine ranked Hosni Abdelhadi, CEO of Carlton Hotels & Suites, 37th among the most powerful people in hospitality industry back in 2019. Such rankings further prove that the company commands influence and leadership in that area.

Carlton Hotels & Suites is designed for the future, in the near and the far. The company has built such a solid base in the Middle East and continues to grow throughout Europe that opportunities for further expansion will not go neglected while, on the other hand, the core element of values – from the very best luxury and comfort to unmatched hospitality, will never be overlooked. Soon enough, in the near future, the Dubai Creek will be a part of the company’s portfolio, another luxurious destination to offer its guests the best of Dubai.

The Carlton Hotels & Suites continues to maintain the very best standards of service to deliver unforgettable experiences for their guests as it expands and develops its presence in the global hospitality map. Rooted in a rich history where the company was born with Dubai rising up as a global city, Carlton Hotels & Suites will remain number one and at the helm of the luxury hospitality scene for many years.

Mudassir Sheikha is a Pakistani-American who, along with Magnus Olsson, a Swede, who was also a consultant at McKinsey & Company before turning an entrepreneur, founded Careem. They started Careem back in 2012 with the aim of solving the transportation problem in the Middle East. Set for corporate car bookings, the app instantly turned out to be a full-scale ridesharing service. Careem’s ride-hailing service garnered considerable mileage in short-span and turned out to be a favourite across the region.

In March 2019, it was Uber that acquired Careem for $3.1 billion, marking yet another mile stone that saw Careem become the very first unicorn from the Middle East. Even after being acquired, Careem’s vision remained crystal clear: creating a platform for a wide array of everyday needs and thus the Super App by Careem. The company didn’t stop at ride-hailing. Careem Now launched in November 2018-food delivery service, and then grocery deliveries with Careem Quik in 2020-offering fast groceries and essentials delivery with its warehouse infrastructure streamlining services. Till 2022, Careem also launched a digital payment service, Careem Pay, transferring money, paying bills and shopping online by ease.

The Careem Super App became all-in-one for its users as it emerged with everything from bike and car rentals to discounts at restaurants and groceries and even payments for bills and online purchases. In 2023, the Super App was spun off as a separate entity as e& (Etisalat) purchased 50.03% of the shares while Uber still owned the ride-hailing business.

The Careem Super App has transformed how users from the Middle East interact with technology. It is yet another application that brings about multiple services under one platform to make life easy for the individual. For example, a user from Dubai can book rides, order food, get groceries delivered, and digital payments all on one application with just a few taps. Therefore, Careem’s integration of so many services has made it a favourite among busy professionals, students, and families alike. Careem is also heavily invested in social impact initiatives. The company has been a pioneering force when it comes to employing female drivers, particularly in traditionally male markets like Pakistan and Egypt, where women drive for Careem, and in Saudi Arabia, where Careem played a big role in helping to empower women to drive when the country ended its ban on female drivers in 2018.

The journey of Careem is not yet over. The company kept pushing the boundaries where it recently launched a “Flexi Ride” feature in Karachi; it allows riders and drivers to set their own prices. Careem Pay digital wallet services are growing with an increasing number of remittance corridors between the UAE and South Asia. In a bid to solidify its presence in the region, Careem recently announced plans to expand further. From ride provision to money transfers, Careem continues to shape the future of tech in the Middle East and across the world.

Conclusion:

From being a ride-hailing service to a super app, Careem has really grown. That’s the vision, right-from revolutionary thinking to moving forward and doing something for daily needs of millions. Its services, with many initiatives for social impact, and continued expansion make Careem all set to become the first-ever “everything app” in the Middle East. Whether it is a ride or a meal, or it is a fast grocery delivery-all those things are found in Careem’s Super App.

Rashid Al Ghurair founded CAFU based on his vision in Dubai. He found that there was a need to create an energy delivery solution based on the hectic lives of residents of the UAE every single day. So far, since its inception in all the years, CAFU has focused on direct fuel delivery at customers’ points of consumption instead of wasting valuable minutes and effort needed in using traditional gas stations. Instead, the company directly delivers fuel at its demand using an application on a smart device, parked car, home, or business.

CAFU, which began working since 2018, quickly proliferated across the country with their services spreading across all the big cities of the UAE. The fast growth brought to focus some extremely wide demand for energy solutions made more accessible and convenient, a job for which CAFU was more than ready. In less than two years, the company found themselves in the list of most trusted sources for energy for personal vehicles as well as fleet-holding companies within the UAE.

While CAFU began its business as a fuel delivery service, there is actually plenty of promise for clean energy in the future. Thus, in 2021, the company began the Ghaf Tree Project, an environmentally-friendly effort to restore ecosystems around the UAE. The project aimed to plant a million seeds of the Ghaf tree in barren spots around the country. This bold move reflected the commitment of CAFU toward sustainability in environmental terms and its requirement to go back to the society. However, this is not the end for CAFU’s sustainability. Since interest in EVs is increasing rapidly, the company considered taking up the cause of promoting their usage. In 2023, CAFU launched a prototype of a mobile EV charging vehicle in Canada. The Ford E-Transit van comes with charging stations and a mobile application. That forms part of the vision of making energy delivery accessible to all vehicles, irrespective of whether they use traditional fuels or something else. It’s another good step for the company in its pursuit of greener, more sustainable energy models.

In 2019, CAFU collaborated with Nakheel, to sell fuel to the owners of the boats who stay in Palm Jumeirah. The agreement ensured an increase in its distribution network beyond the road profiles across the land and showed that the company is flexible regarding the nature of the customers. Also, in October 2023, CAFU collaborated with Shell Markets Middle East, and designated Shell as its lubricant of choice. This will ensure that all the customers of CAFU are given good quality lubricants at their doorsteps supplemented by their fuel deliveries; this helps considerably in optimizing the overall service experience.

In 2021, CAFU collaborated with the Quebec-based Institute of Vehicle Innovation to test its mobile EV chargers in Montreal. It will produce valuable insights for further establishment of the new markets of CAFU. The company keeps growing and adheres to innovation, convenience, and sustainability. In accessing and further developing solutions for mobile charging in Canada, CAFU is part of innovations delivering new standards in energy delivery in the 21st century.

CAFU is moving towards the future with emerging technologies and strategic alliances that define it as a global leader in the energy sector. The company will make accessible and sustainable energy solutions for all customers globally, with delivery service from the busy cities of the UAE to the streets of Montreal.