Bani Haddad, Luigi Romaniello, Rupprecht Queitsch and Stephan Schupbach preview this year's Hotelier GM Debate.
A Need for Better Industry Collaboration
The current pressure on hotels to scale up operations and meet the rise in occupancy has highlighted the importance of industry collaboration on long-term initiatives over the next 12 months.
DTCM’s new hotel classifications and the government’s 2020 tourism plan are both expected to be especially significant in supporting the hospitality industry’s goals and the panel asserted that improving co-operation between the government and the travel trade is essential.
“From 8000 rooms in 1997, to more than 80,000 now, the UAE has already gone through many growing phases, but globally it is still a small and relatively new market. We must see the bigger picture and collaborate to develop new initiatives that offer a better destination,” Jumeirah Zabeel Saray’s Schupbach said.
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Schupbach went on to advocate the benefits of a long-term five or even 10-year plan, hinting that at present, “many focus on ‘what do I get out of this right now and how much will it cost me?’ rather than looking at the big picture.”
Marriott’s Queitsch agreed: “GMs can do a better job, because at present we as an industry just don’t speak enough.”
Wyndham’s Haddad added that effective communication with e-distribution sites is going to be critical to getting a deeper understanding of how they are bringing in customers.
Managing F&B Outlets AS Success Stories
With up to 15,000 F&B outlets operating in the UAE today, the dynamics of the F&B market has changed drastically in recent years. As a result, Queitsch has no doubt that “Dubai is one of the most attractive and interesting F&B destinations in the world right now. There is nothing like it, where every brand name from LA to China wants to be present.”
Rosewood Abu Dhabi’s Romaniello agreed and said that this positivity in the market was also felt in other emirates; “Abu Dhabi is coming along well, we are lucky to live in a place where dining in hotels is part of the lifestyle”, so there is still more opportunity to capitalise in this space.
However, it wasn’t long before the debate regarding the pros and cons of hotel-managed versus third-party-run outlets again reared its head.
Queitsch explained that to develop a successful outlet in today’s market means more than just delivering good food: “Independent restaurateurs came in and raised the bar, raised the excitement and raised the experience so now hotels are catching up and trying to match this.”
Schupbach supported this sentiment but also advised hoteliers to consider how they plan to get their market share back, with pricing now such an issue: “We may have hit a ceiling, so now hotels need a long-term strategy.”
Wyndham’s Haddad doesn’t regard price as an issue, but believes improving diner experience is “one of the biggest challenge facing hotels in UAE today. Independent restaurants place such a high importance on the calibre of talent hired, as well as the look and feel of each venue”.
So can hoteliers compete? Romaniello has confidence that they can, and are already: “We have some great concepts coming up and are investing in culinary talent. It already shows in the standard of cuisine available, while our new Spanish concept restaurant, Catalan, has been booked out consistently, without any marketing.”
He also recognised that patrons are now frequenting places where “they can mingle, they can relax and spend time with friends and family”, so he plans on developing lifestyle venues that encourage guests to do just that by harnessing “all the elements that make a hotel more vibrant.”
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