Building Owner / Operator relationships at AHIC
Many of the owners and operators quoted in this article are speakers at this year’s Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC), which will be held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai from April 30 to May 2.

The theme of the conference is ‘Changing Gears’ and hundreds of owners, investors and operators will come together to discuss topical industry issues, cement existing relationships and begin new ones.

Of particular interest are the new AHIC Investment Marketplace and the Owner & Investor Association, which includes a session called The Owner’s Forum on May 2, that will be hosted by Seven Tides’ Michael Scully with Alain Debare and Siegfried Nierhaus on the panel.

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A.A.Al Moosa Enterprises’ Anil Bhardwaj, meanwhile, will be speaking in a session on May 1 called ‘Owner-Operator Forum on Agreements’ while Corinthia’s Paul Pisani will discuss ‘Acquisition and Brand Conversion — the new development strategy’, also on May 1.

AHIC includes dozens of other valuable sessions on topics from asset management to emerging markets to creating luxury hotels, as well as lots of networking opportunties.

For the full schedule, visit www.arabianconference.com

Did you know?
None of the hotel owners Hotelier spoke with were looking to sell off any of their assets. Instead the strategy was on consolidation or acquisition — and on finding the right partner in an operator and building this relationship over time.

Both Atlas Hospitality and Seven Tides also said they would consider possible partnerships and joint ventures in order to expand.

Only one company, Seven Tides, was expanding into owning and operating hotels following the establishment of a management division which looks after hotels such as Dukes in London, a brand the company is keen to roll out.