Hotelier Middle East’s popular series of conferences returns to Doha, with the new-look Qatar Hospitality Summit to be held on April 15 at Grand Hyatt Doha.
The event will attract more than 150 hotel general managers and department heads, invited to attend a morning of plenary sessions focused on discussing the Qatar hospitality market, from analysis of research and hotel pipeline through to working with government and how to position hotels for the future.
In a first for the Qatar event, delegates will be able to select either the Back of House or Front of House stream, with panel discussions and case studies dedicated to specific operational issues.
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The afternoon sessions will comprise of interactive workshops, with a choice of six, each targeting individual departments, such as food & beverage and sales and marketing.
The agenda has been devised in consultation with an advisory panel consisting of Christoph Franzen, general manager, Grand Hyatt Doha; Christopher Hewett, senior consultant, TRI Hospitality Consulting; Tareq Derbas, general manager, St. Regis Doha; Georges Khalil, director of f&b, InterContinental Doha; and Safak Guvenc, area manager Qatar and general manager, W Doha Hotel & Residences.
Speaking to Hotelier ahead of the event, Hewett outlined the growth of the market, anticipating a 50% increase in inventory within the next three years alone. This is expected to ramp up further post 2017, as the country gears up to host the World Cup 2022.
“The supply pipeline for Doha is substantial with over 7,000 rooms anticipated to enter the market by 2017, representing a 50% increase in the current supply of approximately 13,500 rooms. This will cause some potential challenges, especially if overall demand does not maintain the same pace of growth as supply, forcing down market wide occupancy levels and potentially average rates,” said Hewett.
Of how to manage the supply, he advised: “Generally, existing hotels are in a strong position during these situations as they have established cliental base and sales and marketing channels, which helps maintain consistent demand.
However, this can still be eroded by new hotels adopting aggressive price penetration strategies. Therefore, hoteliers will need to ensure they are always developing new and innovative service offerings and products which create a point of difference in the market.”
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