Event Review: The Hotel Show 2015

The Hotel Show Dubai 2015 took place from September 28-30, 2015, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, and was attended by thousands, and saw a record number of more than 600 suppliers to the industry showcasing their products.

Hotelier Middle East and sister title Caterer Middle East were the exclusive official publications for the event again this year, which saw features like The Vision Conference, Design Theatre, and TecSec Summit offering the opportunity for knowledge sharing and best practice.

Co-located with The Leisure Show Dubai, the two events were opened by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Department of Civil Aviation, CEO and chairman of The Emirates Group and chairman of Dubai World.

The keynote speech at The Vision Conference was given by Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM). He said: “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.

“The hotel sector in general is the backbone of Dubai’s tourism industry, and it is the calibre of the emirate’s accommodation offerings that has helped shape the high standards and reputation that Dubai enjoys and is known for. 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.”

Deals and partnerships were announced full swing at the show. Omani company S&T Interiors and Contracting confirmed the formation of a joint venture company with Italian supply and fit-out company InteriorPlus. Speaking to Hotelier Middle East at the show, S&T vice-chairman, Waqas Al Adawi said that Interium has already received its first large order. Though he couldn’t confirm the details, he did reveal that it is in Kazakhstan.

Already operating in 10 countries worldwide, S&T has plans to expand into key countries across the globe, and Italian partner InteriorPlus is the perfect partner, said Al Adawi.

“We specialise in opulent, ornate Arabic and Oriental interiors and InteriorPlus focuses on Russian luxury interiors and is very popular in that market. Together, the JV’s plan is to take the luxury hotel interiors market by storm. The JV will be a 50:50 basis partnership to leverage the strength of the respective companies.

Speaking to Hotelier, Al Adawi said that the JV’s big offering to hospitality clients is the way JV companies manufacture and value engineer their offerings. “We are unusual in that we value engineer from design and manufacture stage. We have new materials, new ways of producing items with luxurious looks that cost a fraction of the price.”

In other news, Dubai-based fit-out contractors Midas Interiors LLC announced a major deal on the first day signing a US $ 2 million contract with Abu Dhabi-based Al Ahlia Group’s flagship F&B brand La Brioche. European flooring and garden decking manufacturer Timberwolf saw major business deals from all three days of the event. Timberwolf CEO Wolfgang Douglas said: “This year’s Hotel Show was by far the best exhibition of the year with confirmed orders and new projects to top over US $12 million of trade.”

Laurie Clayden, CEO and designer at Castello Luxury Baths said: “The Hotel Show has been an amazing and successful event for Castello with over 50 prospective leads and projects for hotels, safari lodges and international resorts with potential orders worth over US $10 million. We will definitely be back next year with a new range of product designs.”

This year the number of countries in the Show’s International Village expanded with the introduction of Croatia, Finland, Indonesia and Switzerland, taking the number of countries represented up to 48. It was also the first time a Japanese association had taken part.

Takahide Ohta, head of operations at the Japan Leading Edge Foundation (JLEF) said: “The Hotel Show has presented us with an excellent opportunity to connect with top level professionals from the hospitality industry in the Middle East who have a real interest in Japan. Despite this being our first time at the show, we already have a number of potential business tie-ups lined up post-show. An absolute must for any organisation in the hospitality industry with links to the region.”

Danube Group’s furniture and home décor wing, Danube Home, revealed it was entering into an exclusive dealership with Portugal-based hotel furniture supplier, whereby Danube Home will be the sole supplier of its product offerings in the region. These include complete contract furniture solutions and other restaurant furniture available in metallic and wooden finishes.

Onity was another firm that saw success at The Hotel Show. “Much like the rest of the world, the hospitality industry is changing rapidly because of technology,” said Borja Ibarrondo, MD, Onity & Supra, EMEA.

“Properties need products that allow them to seamlessly offer the kind of efficient, secure and state-of-art experience that guests are accustomed to in other areas of their lives. Our new Trillium lock and suite of products provide exactly that.”

The DirectKey product was launched at the event, and Ibarrondo said: “We’re excited to unveil an industry-leading mobile key solution in a space where more offerings are becoming available. With DirectKey, we know that hotel staff and guests will receive the kind of innovative technology and advanced security products they need with the ease of use they desire.

“The Hotel Show was the ideal venue to showcase our products and present our new solutions, as it gathered all the public we were looking to meet. Key decision makers attended so we took the opportunity to meet them face-to-face, to show them how we can exceed their expectations.”

The Hotel Show Dubai 2016 will take place 17-19 September 2016 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Revealed: five trends driving F&B in Dubai

Dubai’s F&B scene is undergoing an evolution. Waqar Ahmed Mirza, commercial director, Middle East & Africa, McQueen’s Group spoke exclusively to Hotelier Middle East on the sidelines of The Hotel Show 2015 and revealed what are the drivers behind the recent trends:

1) Technology is playing a big role in the food industry, and across various sectors as well. Technology in POS mechanisms, consumers communicating through dedicated apps that let you purchase and render feedback. Technology is all around us, and is driving the F&B industry in a massive way today.

2) Cuisines are slicing down from a broad offering to a narrow one. A rising number of restaurants are offering a specific dish type from the entire cuisine, for example — a restaurant that serves only biryani, in different variations.

3) People want to eat “health-ful” and not beautiful anymore, Consumers are no longer ready to sacrifice health benefits ahead of rich, full-bodied ingredients.

4) Conscious approach to knowing the food supply chain. Consumers are extremely knowledgeable and will not tolerate unethical means of production or supply.

5) Globalisation of foods and fusing of cuisines are on the rise, Dubai is home to many nationalities and as such fusing two popular cuisines is on the rise.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Hotelier Middle East dashed about the various panel discussions and seminars, and has collated some of the top trends, news and views from a selection of expert thought:

Theme parks assemble to conquer Dubai

With three projects in the pipeline from Dubai Parks and another by IMG, theme parks are going to be the next big thing to take Dubai by storm. “We have been here in the past,” said Philip Shepherd, partner, PwC Middle East Hospitality & Leisure. “In 2009 around 18 theme parks and attractions were being discussed, and rights were being negotiated. But none even took off the ground.” Shepherd sights a massive difference this time around compared to the past failures, saying: “That will not repeat in Dubai again, simply because the parks are already in construction phase and set to open soon. Projects have been planned well and we can see a future for them. They are no longer just never-ending hoardings by the Sheikh Zayed Road.”

Sustainability in the hospitality industry

Hoteliers and stakeholders shared best practices followed in their properties, emphasising the growing importance of sustainability in the current market. “At Accor Hotels we strictly follow the ‘Planet 21’ programme that is a well-defined 21 point charter defining the use of water, electricity, management amongst other important measures,” said Rohit Salunke, director of engineering, Sofitel The Palm Dubai. Meanwhile, Iftikhar Hamdani, general manager, Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman shared his hotel’s initiatives, “Ajman dumps 600 tonnes of waste in landfills every day. However, we have reduced 90% of our hotel waste. Initially, we used to produce 950 kgs of waste daily.”

Importance of mockup rooms

Experts said that hotel mock-up room are important to ensure the final product meets expectations, adding that negotiating on mock-up room costs is a detriment. MMAC Design Associates design director Anil Mangalat liked the mock-up room to a safety net, and said: “You’re going to go ahead and build a hotel that’s a 100 keys, 200 keys, or 300 keys. You want the client and operator to be happy and you have to check things before you go too far in the process.” Tarek Ardakani, general manager — business development, Bond Interiors agreed, and added that the essence of the room was to provide the experience a real guest would face when the hotel is complete. This concept is especially important in this region, said Design Confidence principal — project management Dipak Tailor. He said: “The only time the owner will get involved is to come see the mock-up room. They don’t actually know what they’re going to get until they see a physical sample.” Vibha Mehra Sawhney, project director, EAME/SWA design services, Hyatt International South West Asia Limited, said: “We’re looking at how it feels like for an operator to maintain and clean. We’ve got guidelines to follow. Everything is tested.”

Food costs and turnover on the rise, say chefs

The current challenges facing chefs in the UAE’s hospitality market include a fast-changing sector, staff turnover, and food costs, according to the experts. Samir Roonwal, executive chef, Al Ghurair Rayhaan & Al Ghurair Arjaan by Rotana, said staffing is still a huge problem. “What keeps me awake at night is making sure I have the same team tomorrow morning. It’s tough to keep up with that.” The Address Dubai Marina executive chef Avinash Mohan said: “The crucial aspect about staff is that it’s difficult to find huge skill levels in Dubai and all the ones keep jumping hotel to hotel.” Media One Hotel executive chef Girish Babu agreed, and then also added the element of rising food costs.