ocial media and mobile already live in symbiosis and we will only continue to see them merge over the course of this year. Mobile activity has allowed social media to live in real time by allowing users to create updates, tag friends and check in on their mobile devices.”
“Keeping an eye out for authentic ways to make use of emerging social and mobile applications will be of great value for hotels,” he added.
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As well as tackling key industry themes and issues, the GM Debate also offers GMs a choice of more practical, specialist workshops led by industry experts. Dubai-based Sweetbeam will be running a session entitled Discovering the Hidden Revenue & Profit Potential of In-House Guests, while for GMs interested in developing their restaurants’ potential, don’t miss the workshop on F&B Innovation from Robert Ancill, chief executive officer of The Next Idea.
More than 200 general managers are expected to attend and interact in the Hotelier Middle East Great GM Debate.
Make sure to follow all the news as it happens with our hourly updates on hoteliermiddleeast.com as well as @HotelierME on Twitter, and download the Hotelier Middle East app to get the full rundown of the event in the October issue of the magazine.
The Agenda at a glance
08.00 Registration & morning coffee
09.00 Welcome from Hotelier Middle East
09.10 Setting the Scene — The UAE Outlook
Christopher Hewett, senior consultant, TRI Hospitality Consulting
09.30 OPENING PANEL DISCUSSION: Beating Benchmarks
Owners are becoming increasingly engaged with the performance results of hotels, placing renewed importance on KPIs and financial benchmarks. However, the challenge with benchmarking and obtaining hotel performance data is the discrepancy of data which is used. There is a lack of consistency in the room revenue reported to third party firms, one of the reasons being the service charge. This session will discuss a common standard of how hotels and resorts report their numbers to create a correct benchmark for the industry, as well as assess the value and implementation of quality audits and guest satisfaction reports.
Moderator: Christopher Hewett, senior consultant, TRI Hospitality Consulting
Panel: Philip Wooler, area director Middle East & Africa, STR Global
Peter O’Connor, general manager, Habtoor Grand Beach Resort & Spa
Marc Descrozaille, regional director — UAE, Egypt, Jordan & Oman, The Rezidor Hotel Group
Laurent A. Voivenel, chief executive officer, HMH Hotel Group
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