Wissam El Cheikh Hassan chaired the first panel session of the day on how to make purchasing more efficient.
Nair moderated a panel discussion on another contentious issue, which looked at business ethics and best practice in purchasing.
The panellists commented that suggestions about bribery being rife among procurement managers in hotels is unfair, with professionals calling for more attention to be paid to the actions of suppliers and other hotel staff.
Fairmont Dubai purchasing manager Jean Manuel said: “In each [hotel] there should be a strong policy on bribery. And it should not only be for procurement.
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“It should be for the whole organisation because it is always implied on procurement, which is really very unfair.”
Nair had begun the panel on business ethics by citing the Hotelier Middle East Supplier Survey, conducted earlier this year, in which 55% of respondents said that they had been asked to offer a monetary bribe, while 72.6% of participants said they knew of other supply firms that were using bribes.
El Cheikh Hassan, speaking from the audience, insisted that everyone in the industry — from both hotels and suppliers — had “horror stories” about bribery, and that these were gathered either through first-hand experiences, or from their peers. “I have never seen an example — apart from one — where someone is fired [for bribery],” he said.
“The best way to get rid of this problem is to make an example of someone.”
In the same session, some of the expert panellists also shared best practices to ensure fairness in the procurement process.
“We don’t allow any supplier anywhere near the hotel,” said Damac Hotels Management director of procurement — hospitality Ajaz Wani.
“I have no one in procurement sitting in the hotel. So all the interaction has to be with someone sitting in the corporate office.”
HotelEquip Consultants International Head of Delivery Sarry Jouzy detailed how suppliers should have to meet pre-qualification criteria in order to do business with a hotel.
“Our job is to make sure we have competitive procurement, and that there is transparency. We invest a lot of time in giving suppliers feedback.
“That’s really important to try and engender fairness and make suppliers feel like this is a company with which, if they stay and work hard enough, they will have a chance.”
Next year’s Hotelier Middle East Procurement Summit is scheduled for November 3 in Dubai.
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