Expected restaurant closures in Dubai over the next year are a good sign for the F&B industry, Atlantis the Palm senior vice president – food & beverage Mark Patten said at the Hotelier Great GM Debate 2016.
Speaking during a panel discussion about hoteliers keeping up with F&B trends and enhancing their F&B strategies, Patten said: “If you look at the Dubai landscape right now, where we have to be very careful is all the new restaurateurs coming into the business who do not have experience and are being signed up by hotels that have absolutely no experience, and just deep pockets.
"With the high cost of rent at the moment and the number of restaurants opening, there is going to be a correction in this business over in the next 12 months and in one way this a good sign for Dubai because it means we’re a maturing market in food and beverage. Restaurants opening and closing is a sign of a maturing, sophisticated market”
Asked about the region’s F&B evolution in the discussion, which was moderated by Starwood Hotels & Resorts director of F&B Europe, Africa and Middle East Stefan Breg, Patten described the present as an interesting time to be in Dubai, in part due to the amount of “standalone home-grown talent coming through”.
Praising this market development, the hotelier commented: “All of a sudden you’re seeing all these great restaurant opening at the base of a building in JLT – and they’re serving cocktails. In Dubai at the moment there is a neighbourhood approach to food and beverage.”
He also noted that the emirate’s F&B offering has become more diverse and consumer expectations have changed.
“The entrepreneurial spirit we have started to see over recent years is coming to the forefront of the hospitality industry, and I think this is key. There’s been a significant improvement [in this respect] over the years. Also, food is now almost secondary to the overall experience you want to have in a restaurant; entertainment has taken over almost as the forefront of your experience when you go out to dine. The food is important but if you look at the Dubai general public, they’re looking for entertainment, and with the market struggling and business being a bit tough, people want to go out and have more fun.
“Let’s face it; people want to enjoy themselves when they go out – we saw that back in 2008 and we’re seeing that happening again now.”
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