With 200 general managers expected to attend Hotelier Middle East’s Great GM Debate in Dubai this month, there’s no doubt that it will be a lively affair. Here’s a round-up of what’s in store…
The Hotelier Middle East Great GM Debates are the only industry-specific networking events for hotel general managers.
Lively, informative and inspiring, they bring GMs together to discuss the issues that matter most to hotel general managers, from everyday challenges such as motivating staff to long-term strategy planning, and from creating restaurant concepts to maximising revenue management.
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Following the launch of the first GM Debate in 2010 in Dubai, Hotelier has held similar conferences in Riyadh and Doha, and now one year on, general managers across the UAE are gearing up for the second Great GM Debate in Dubai, being held at Jumeirah Beach Hotel on September 14.
Already, close to 200 general managers are signed up to attend the event, which is supported by both the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
The ADTA’s director general, His Excellency Mubarak Al Muhairi, will open the event with a keynote speech, which will be followed by an address from the DTCM’s Majid Al Marri, director of hotel classifications.
The GMs will then be the first hoteliers in the world to witness the unveiling of the latest GCC hotel pipeline data, researched and presented by Viability director Guy Wilkinson.
A sneak preview of the data is published for the first time in this magazine on pages 20-23, but Wilkinson will talk through his findings — which put a positive spin on upcoming hotel development in the region — in more depth.
The opening panel session will follow, moderated by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Middle East and Africa managing director Jalil Mekouar, who will task four panelists — and the audience — to discuss ‘where are we headed?’
With the pipeline data prominent in people’s minds, the panellists will debate the new reality for the UAE’s hotel market, post-downturn, and post-unrest.
Millennium & Copthorne Middle East partner and president Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, Rotana executive vice president and chief operating officer Omer Kaddouri, Jumeirah Group SVP operations — Middle East, Africa and South Asia Marwin Al Ali and Ishraq Holding CEO Sami Al Ansari will all take to the stage to debate the greatest opportunities for growth in the country and the need for hoteliers and the authorities to act in unison.
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