Event Review: The Hotel Show

The Hotel Show event organiser Christine Davidson shows His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum around the exhibition.

He added that, with incentives from the government, three- and four-star hotels in Dubai were “on the rise”.

No event focusing on hospitality in the Middle East, and particularly Dubai, can pass without a mention of the government’s ambitious target of 20 million tourists a year by 2020, and this was certainly on the minds of exhibitors.

“Why are we here? If you look at the region and starting with Dubai in particular looking at Expo 2020 there’s a huge surge in hospitality growth,” said Honeywell regional GM MEA Dilip Sinha.

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“Almost 160 hotel rooms are going to be added by 2020 and if you look at the region, the hospitality industry is one of the key verticals experiencing growth — in the next five years this industry will be growing faster than most other industries,” he added.

HoistLocatel managing director Karim Zaki gave a broader outlook: “The Hotel Show has attracted people from Africa and Saudi Arabia, so it’s very important for us. We are already active in Egypt and KSA but we see Egypt as a potential big market next year.

“With Qatar, you’re sitting in anticipation about when it’s going to happen. It’s not really happened yet; maybe it’s on hold with all the issues around the World Cup? Eventually it’s going to come because 2022 is going to come,” he added.

Olivier Brommet, director of international sales at Hypnos, explained why the event was so important to exhibiting suppliers like his company.

“We used the Hotel Show this year to reinforce the message that Hypnos now manufactures beds in Dubai.

“In less than two years, Hypnos has developed from a UK-based company to a truly global company with 13 factories throughout the world, making us a real alternative to the more established suppliers which dominate the beds and bedding market,” he said.

“We have picked up some great new leads so we’re very happy with the result and will definitely be back next year.”

Furthermore, this year’s event saw a number of suppliers showing off technical innovations across a range of categories, from software to in-room products.

IT infrastructure solutions company F1 Infotech has launched the video collaboration wall from Prysm, a California-based manufacturer. The wall, which was showcased at the Hotel Show is similar to a giant iPad screen and is available in a number of sizes and shapes, including u-shaped and curved.

Cyril Mattar, Prysm director of sales, said: “It’s just like your iPad, but we’re the only company that can offer it on large screens. You can have it in a lobby, or in a board room or meeting room. In a lobby it won’t be interactive, it will be a big screen, any size and shape you want.”

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