EXCLUSIVE: Hotel Show Preview

Message from the organiser

Christine Davidson, group event director, DMG Events outlines The Hotel Show agenda and what’s new at this year’s event.

The hospitality landscape in the Middle East and Africa is transforming at an unprecedented rate with 694 hotel projects and 188,817 rooms in the pipeline. That’s a lot of hotel rooms, terraces, lounges, restaurants, cafés, pools, spas, gyms, and more to be fit-out and equipped over the next five years. Dubai is forecast to have over 100,000 rooms by 2020 — positioning it as a major contracts market. And as a world class destination, it remains the perfect home for The Hotel Show Dubai, the region’s leading meeting place for the hospitality industry.

There is a real buzz as mega-projects such as Dubai Parks and Resorts, and Dubai Pearl in Dubai, the Louvre, Guggenheim and Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi, the Qatar Fifa World Cup Stadium and many more begin to take shape and drive demand for products and solutions. Dubai is definitely a contracts market and an inspirational environment.

The Hotel Show is co-located with The Leisure Show to provide a 360-degree view of the region’s hospitality and leisure industries, providing everything needed to build, operate and maintain hotels, restaurants and leisure facilities of all styles and scope.

As we move towards the 16th edition of the event, 650 companies and thousands of global brands join us from over 45 countries. With larger pavilions this year from Turkey, China and Portugal joining an already impressive International Village with exhibitors from more than 45 countries, this year we are providing the largest sourcing, knowledge-share, and networking event across the Middle East and Africa. Last year, over US $6.2 million worth of business deals were conducted on-site at The Hotel Show by over 18,500 attendees from 98 countries.

The show has changed dramatically over the years with increased educational content providing essential learning for the industry. This year we see the introduction of two new theatres supporting the already popular Vision Conference, which will once again welcome over 80+ global industry leaders sharing vision, ideas, views and insight.

Technology is this year’s big trend for hoteliers and restaurateurs, so the introduction of TecSec, the new technology and security summit, makes absolute sense. We all keep hearing about what millennials want, so now the big brands advise how to deliver it. With sessions by industry leaders, the message is you don’t have to be an IT expert to understand how to deliver the ultimate seamless guest experience.

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There’s also a focus on inspirational design, and new for 2015, the Design Theatre will host talks and presentations on latest trends, colours and collections, concepts and much more, from leading designers and architects.

The Hotel Show Dubai is an industry-leading forum and Dubai is definitely the place to be for a glimpse into the future of hospitality. With our strategic partners Dubai Tourism, and our official media partners Hotelier and Caterer, we invite you to join us in September at the biggest event yet.

The hotel show 2015

The Hotel Show Dubai 2015 will be bigger than ever, with more than 600 global exhibitors and over 17,000 visitors expected to attend this year’s event.

The Hotel Show Dubai returns this year from September 28-30 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Now in its 16th year, the event is set to welcome over 600 global exhibitors, and more than 17,000 attendees.

Additionally, the event, offers dedicated zones that focus on various facets of the hospitality industry. Among these is the Vision Conference, which offers insights into industry trends through case studies and panel discussions; The Leisure Show, a new Design Theatre, and TecSec.

The Hotel Show is again expected to welcome more than 80 speakers from across the globe, sharing expertise and insights with more than 800 delegates.

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The Hotel Show Dubai event director Christine Davidson says: “As we move towards the 16th edition of The Hotel Show Dubai we can see how much it has transformed into a content filled, informative, business generating forum where the industry meets to network and share insight.”

“This is such an exciting time in our industry and in this market here in the Middle East. Hotel and leisure development, build and investment is significant and will continue over coming years making it the perfect contract market for global suppliers,” she adds.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) chief executive officer Issam Kazim also comments: “The Hotel Show is one of the most important annual events in our calendar at Dubai Tourism and has played a significant part in driving the hospitality sector by bringing hoteliers together, facilitating partnerships, improving market analysis, and understanding, and ensuring alignment with Dubai’s overall tourism vision.

“Hotels and hospitality have a great part to play in realising Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020, which aims to welcome 20 million visitors per year by the start of the next decade. Dubai welcomed 13.2 million international overnight visitors in 2014, so while much progress has already been made, there is still much to achieve. Together, facilitated by the Hotel Show, we can reach and exceed our goals, and drive success and prosperity within the tourism industry as whole.”

Technology will also be a major feature for the first time in the show’s history. “There will also be, for the first time, a key focus on the big trend this year: technology. And it’s not a myth; the hotel industry is really starting to substantially invest in providing seamless and tech driven experiences for guests,” says Davidson.

Additionally, this year’s show will feature a Design Theatre, where architects and interior designers will reflect on the latest trends and ideas.

More than 600 companies and thousands of brands from more than 45 countries are expected to exhibit, and this year, the show will have even larger pavilions from Turkey, Portugal and China.

An exclusive new report recently published by Jones Lang LaSalle for The Hotel Show Dubai revealed that Dubai is set to see a massive increase of 28,000 new hotel rooms by 2018.

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“We know that this year we will be providing the largest procurement opportunity in the region with the very latest collections, products, services and inspiration for hotel and restaurant owners and directors.

“All in all, if you are a hospitality professional, 28-30 September 2015 should already be in your diary for The Hotel Show and The Leisure Show at Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai,” Davidson asserts.

The vision conference

Over 80 speakers will share their knowledge and best practices at this year’s event.

The Hotel Show’s Vision Conference is a forum for experts in the hospitality and leisure industry across the Middle East and Africa to present, discuss and debate current trends. Over 80 speakers from across the globe share their knowledge, best practices, and vision on a diverse range of topics across three days, including F&B, HR & training, technology, security, interiors, architecture, hot developments & development hotspots, sports/leisure/medical/MICE tourism, mega projects, management and operations, investment, refurbishment and sustainability.

The Hotel Show Dubai event director Christine Davidson says: “This year’s Vision Conference will address future trends and emerging topics that will affect this industry as we head towards Dubai 2020. We are confident these areas of focus will not only inspire the audience, but ensure they come away with a greater understanding of global hospitality trends, how to drive leisure demand as well as balancing guest satisfaction to meet sustainability requirements and government standards. The programme will also explore emerging markets, address destination marketing, tourism infrastructure and theme parks, plus exceptional dining experiences to drive revenue.”

Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi executive chef Michel Jost, who will be one of the key speakers at The Vision Conference, added: “In a fast growing market like the UAE, attending The Hotel Dubai Show is not an option, it’s a given. The UAE is probably going to have the fastest growth ever seen in hospitality over the next 6-8 years.”

“For those in hospitality who consider they have only a limited time for networking and to really see what the competition is doing, The Hotel Show Dubai should not be missed. Slowing down a few days may offer the reward of going faster in the future,” he added.