And this is a consistent trend. More than 80% of our participants said their hotel or parent company has created a direct booking campaign in response to OTAs.
Makkah Hilton & Towers general manager Ibrahim Alfati said: “It is our commitment to our valued customers that we offer best deals and top value at minimal efforts when customers decide to book direct through our various booking channels. Statistics show that over 60% of customers mistakenly believe that they can get best deals from OTAs, while 5% only of customers are aware of benefits of ‘Book Direct’ and we are working of changing this belief.”
Hoesli added: “These trends, as witnessed in 2016, are not expected to change in the coming 12 months. Also, I very much doubt that the ‘old’ way of doing business will ever come back. Therefore, social media, online reputation management and online booking channels have become even more important than before and are correspondingly emphasised by us.”
LOCALISATION
One of the topics that many people are talking about in general is the importance of nationalisation in hospitality recruitment, especially from the point of view of long-term sustainability. However, 9% of the respondents said it was easy to recruit local nationals as staff members in hotels.
Hoesli went against the vote, and said: “I believe that it is easy to recruit local nationals here in Saudi Arabia, mainly for administrative positions. Our aim is not to offer them a job, but a long-standing career within the hospitality industry. For this we have implemented the ‘KSA Professional Hotelier Programme’, which is a company initiative. Through this programme we have certified 32 Saudi nationals so far in 2016. We are now conducting additional courses, such as the Lessons in Leadership Programme, which spans several months. This will also assist our Saudi workforce, male and female, to discover the advantages of a career in the operational departments of a hotel.
“We are cooperating with several government-sponsored institutions, in order to provide opportunities to their students, emphasising also on the development of female students. Of course, as everything, it will need time to see the seeds grow and develop. However, the feedback from the participants is very good, and I can clearly see some successes in the making.”
Hoesli says that with increasing exposure and local nationals becoming more and more involved and successful in the hospitality industry, the industry itself will soon be seen as a viable career choice.
JA Resorts & Hotels, for example, provides opportunities for its UAE national associates to join and participate in professional hospitality industry associations such as The Union Internationale des Concierges ďHôtels, Les Clefs d’ Or UAE, AICR Côte ďAzur UAE, The Emirates Culinary Guild, and so on.
The hospitality group is proactive in sending its UAE national associates on externally-run college and university courses and training programmes to further their development in the field. In addition, it recognises the importance that mentors can play in harnessing talent and runs a ‘Hotelier Role Models Mentoring Programme’ to source and equip selected line managers with the skills to be mentors to the UAE national associates.
Torsten Obermann, area general manager of JA Ocean View Hotel and The Walk, said: “JA Resorts & Hotels has proudly supported the recruitment, development and career progression of both UAE and GCC national associates in the hospitality industry for over 14 years. We take great pride in nurturing and growing our local talent through our strong Emiratisation programme and have implemented a fast track recruitment process to source, select and recruit outstanding candidates. We are particularly delighted to see the strong work ethic and drive amongst our employees on our workforce.”
Waldorf Astoria Jeddah Qasr al Sharq & Hilton Jeddah GM Kevin Brett said: “Previously, we were finding it difficult to lure Saudis to join us for certain jobs in the hospitality sector such as stewarding, housekeeping, room service et cetera. However lately we have observed that there is a growing interest for them to be part of the hotel industry at different levels.”
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