Region's GMs gear up for next week's Great Debate
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.
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.
And then…it’s time to let the GMs loose as they attend a selection of workshops in the morning and afternoon, designed to enable the attendees to ask each other about their businesses, share best practice, admit errors and regale one another with behind the scenes stories from their properties.
A taster of what to expect is provided on pages 16-18, but topics will include Delivering World Class Service, Where Should the Revenue Manager Sit, and last year’s most popular topic — referred to by some as therapy — Working with Owners.
But what do the GMs want to take away from The Great GM Debate this year? Wajeed Bagwan, in charge of Lotus Hotel Apartments & Spa, is hoping to get up to date on the supply pipeline.
“The biggest challenge — considering the economic backdrop of Dubai — is for those hotel owners whose capital structure does not match the financial and operational needs of the business. For them, it is the time to review and possibly renegotiate covenants as well as develop an appropriate financial platform that meets cash requirements,” says Bagwan.
“I think a greater focus on offering additional value-added services within the room rate (instead of dropping rates) is one way to weather the storm and therefore, attending the Boosting Ancillary Service workshop would help me know more of whether others think alike and what are the new approaches towards it,” he says.
For Cora Stuart, GM at Media One Hotel in Dubai, gaining further understanding of the potential of hotel F&B is important, an issue the workshop on Satisfying Savvy Diners aims to tackle.
“I see the F&B business as a more complex proposition for hotels,” says Stuart. “The choices in Dubai are tremendous and I want to gain some insights on trends, what does well, what doesn’t. The life cycle of food and beverage concepts seems to have shortened and hopefully this workshop can help in giving us ideas on ensuring sustainability.”
She agreed that increasing rates was the main challenge facing GMs — but thinks Dubai has begun the road to recovery.
“As anticipated, the increased supply of rooms into the market not only with hotels but with other accommodation availability has made it challenging to grow rates. Generally however, the room business is still promising on an occupancy level and is anticipated to improve after summer,” says Stuart.
“If we look at the current summer months, it is the challenge of getting through alive from both rooms and F&B business.”
So, did your hotel make it through the summer alive? Is rooms business on the up? The Great GM Debate is the place to find out. Stay tuned for live coverage of the event on HotelierMiddleEast.com…
Not-to-be missed GM workshops
Ahead of The Great GM Debate, workshop leaders present their thoughts on the industry issues most dear to them and set the scene for a host of lively debates.
Boosting Ancillary Revenue
Workshop leader: Raki Phillips, area director, sales and marketing for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in the UAE
Interestingly enough when you ask anyone about ancillary revenues, from airline partners and hoteliers to directors of sales and marketing from various industries, more often then not you’re met with a vague look. This is a revenue stream that is not commonly analysed in the hospitality sector, but can have a great impact on the bottom line.
Did you know that for some airlines, ancillary revenues accounts for 5% of their overall revenues; and that proactive ancillary measures can lead upwards to 20%?
For us in the hospitality industry, ancillary revenues go beyond simple room or food and beverage up selling to a culture where one’s team is trained properly, anticipates guests’ needs and are empowered to drive additional revenues.
It begins with creating experiences for guests who are well travelled and business savvy to revitalising your in-room offerings and harnessing social media platforms to drive marketability and revenues.
It also means taking a comprehensive approach towards total hotel revenue management. In this workshop we’ll explore many questions, including:
• How to get started?
• The importance of training and of technology towards ancillary revenues.
• What to look out for during your next P & L (profit and loss) meeting.
• Where do you draw the line between upselling and giving it away for free?
Making Social Media work for you
Workshop leader: Martin Kubler, founder, Iconsulthotels
Getting started in social media is deceptively cheap and easy; winning isn’t. In this workshop, we’ll separate truth from fiction and find out what works, for whom it works, and when it works.
We’ll find out that there’s more to social media than Facebook and Twitter and take a look at ‘social media best practice’ in the region. Whether you’re looking to take on social media in-house or to hire a specialist service provider, this workshop will equip you with the knowledge to ask the right questions and to avoid being taken in by ‘social media gurus’.
Regardless of whether your hotel is already active on social media sites or is only just starting out, the workshop will show you how to optimise your hotel’s social media presence, how to integrate social media into daily operations and long-term business strategies, and what to do if things go wrong.
The questions we’ll be debating in the session include:
What’s hot and what’s not?
• Is the Facebook “bubble” about to burst after years of popularity?
• The rise of Google+
• To blog or not?
• If you could only be on one social media site, which one should it be?
How to perform a digital health check for your hotel?
• Find out where you stand with social media in less than one hour
• What’s your “reach”? How many people are you actually talking to?
• It’s not all about numbers! Why large numbers of followers on your site do not equal quality social media engagement.
• Social Media in your hotel: Whose responsibility should it be to look after it?
Revenue management in F&B outlets
Workshop leader: Hannes Bos, director of revenue strategy and support, Greater China, InterContinental Hotels Group
Over the past decade, RevPAR has been one of the key hotel benchmark metrics to measure success of a hotel’s commercial strategy. This has remained our industry’s guiding principle, but, in spite of the growing importance of F&B revenues, it has yet to be properly applied to hotel restaurants as well as rooms.
As most markets are in a “buyers market” cycle, average daily rates will only grow progressively. In order to outperform competition, hotels should redefine their F&B strategies to boost future total revenue and bottom line.It is important to shift your existing hotel strategies towards 1:1 revenue management, incorporating CRM principles.
In order to drive incremental revenue, at a profit, one needs to truly understand guest stay and consumption behaviour. This requires more in depth analytics on guests than currently extracted from our property management, F&B, reservation and customer relationship systems.
The questions to ask include:
• How many F&B outlets have your in-house guests visited during their stay?
• What meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc) did they have, for how long, with whom, consuming what kind of F&B?
• How does this vary by segment, length of stay and by price point?
Incorporating such insights into your total revenue management strategies will give you a competitive edge, increasing your capture ratios, profit margins and top line room and F&B revenues.
Motivating and retaining staff
Workshop leader: Craig Cochrane, vice president human resources —Middle East and Asia, Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts
Finding and keeping talent is an on-going challenge for the hotel business, so this workshop will bring together GMs to discuss a range of people-related issues. The general manager is the biggest influencer of employee motivation in the business and holds the key to retention.
But what is more important to the GM, policy or people? And do our actions demonstrate this to our teams? Our mantra in the hotel business is that “our people are our greatest asset”… but — often — we would happily let any of them go if it would help secure a piece of short-term business or keep the owner off our back.
On the subject of staff retention, people don’t leave companies, they leave people. Do you know who is causing others to be demotivated in your place of work? How do you recognise the signs?
In this session, GMs will be encouraged to discuss:
• Is working in hospitality in the Middle East viewed as a ‘career’ or ‘just a job’?
• What are the different triggers for motivation and retention?
• Can exit interviews help reduce employee turnover?(I think they are a waste of time.)
Satisfying Savvy Diners
Workshop leader: Aidan Keane, CEO and founder, Keane Brands
I don’t want to waste this opportunity to talk about the local F&B market. I’m seeing it as a really good chance to hear what the hotel GMs think of the F&B offers in their market.
They’re all travelled men and women, and so what do they honestly think of it — outside of the corporate bubble? What do their guests think? Is the F&B up to scratch or is it just a bunch of fakers asking full price for copies?
I’d also like to ask the GMs about design and get to the bottom of why every hotel restaurant looks like it was all designed by the same company one busy afternoon in 2006. It should be a great session for everyone in the room.
Meet the sponsors
The Hotelier Middle East Great GM Debate is supported by the top names in the Middle East hospitality business including:
Gold Sponsor: Al Aqili Furnishings
Associate Sponsor: A Ronai Ltd
Associate Sponsor: Steelite
Workshop Sponsor: A & R Textile Group
Workshop Sponsor: IDS Next
Workshop Sponsor: Stylis Hotel Solutions
Workshop Sponsor: Hertz
Workshop Sponsor: Technogym
Workshop Sponsor: Intercoil
Exhibitor: Sun and Shades General Trading
Exhibitor: Hotelier ME
Exhibitor: Intermetal
Exhibitor: Diversey Gulf
Exhibitor: Sealy
Exhibitor: Lavazza
Exhibitor: Kudos International
Exhibitor: Al Accad Hotel Supplies
Exhibitor: Sico — Choices General Trading
Exhibitor: Illy Cafe
Exhibitor: Salto Systems
Exhibitor: Alissar Flowers
Exhibitor: RONA
Exhibitor: Unique Precise International
Exhibitor: Star TV Middle East
Official Water Sponsor: San Pellegrino / Acqua Panna
Lunch Sponsor: France 24
Drink Reception Sponsor: MMI
Lanyard Sponsor: ResNet World
Bag Sponsor: espinternational