By 2001, the project, which had been codenamed NEO, was more than a possibility. Studies were available that demonstrated the technological feasibility of designing and building the hotel. At that point, Hauser, who in 1976 served as the chairman of the World Congress of Design, assembled a team of experts in submarine and construction techniques. Hauser's original vision was, according to the website, to focus "on fusing the nexus between man's quest to conquer the seas and living peaceably in its environs alongside aquatic life."
Under the research of Hauser's new team, the original design and vision was expanded to include wellness, medicine, culture, and underwater biology into the final concept, which Hauser presented to the government of Dubai in April 2002. At the end of 2002, the negotiations, according to the website, lead the Dubai government to agree, in principle, to building the world's first underwater hotel in the Arabian Gulf. In 2005, the now publically-traded company was given its current name Hydropolis Resorts PLC.
According to the company's website, the company is seeking to develop and franchise the construction rights for each of the company's steel, glass, and concrete structures in various locales throughout the world including Qingdao. Each project will consist of a landstation, which will be used to introduce guests to the hotel, which the company refers to as Hydropalaces. The projects, which are planned for both deep and shallow water environments, will be connected to the landstation through tunnels or shuttles. Their website says that the hydropalaces will be five to seven levels.
Approximately 70% to 80% of the hotel will be underwater. The hotels will also include 250 to 300 suites, spa and hydrotherapy facilities, ballrooms that can accommodate over 1,000 guests, restaurants, nightclubs, and King's Suites, which the website describes as "perhaps the most sophisticated and entrancing living environments on Earth."
Currently, the company is projecting a net income for their Qingdao project of 334 billion euros for the year 2009. The company's projection for their Dubai hotel, which, unlike their Qingdao hotel, is a shallow water project, suggesting that it might be much more profitable. The company projects that in 2009, the Dubai project will earn a net profit of $529 billion euros.
The company's website, due to the fact that is currently under construction, does not, however, provide any data suggesting the engineering and design feasibility of the projects but does provide graphics depicting the various designs that have been proposed for the hydropalaces.
