The results of the recent BDRC Middle East Business Hotel Guest Survey 2008 make for some interesting reading, not least because it is one of the few empirical measures of external perceptions of the region's hotel industry.
For many people, working in the Middle East hotel industry is often a case of sitting on the inside looking out.
From here it is very difficult to gauge what the international travelling public's perception of the newly launched brands and glitzy properties really is - and as former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill once said, "however beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results".
And unfortunately, the results are not pretty.
While international brands continue to jostle in the top 10 in the Middle East according to the survey, it must be somewhat concerning that there are still no "local" brands that rate a mention at the top of the league table.
This is not to criticise the efforts of regional players, who are coming up against the might of international distribution systems and brand recognition based on decades of business travel.
And, as was pointed out at this year's Arabian Travel Market, every year there are five or six new hotel brands launched, but only a few remain to come back a second time.
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Indeed one gentleman, who left an established company to set up one of the maverick entities with big promises of "changing service standards" privately confided that if he had known it was going to be so difficult to set up a new hotel company and establish strong distribution networks, he never would have bothered.
Bearing this in mind, companies such as Jumeirah and Rotana should be heartily applauded for their continued presence and booming pipeline projections.
So what can be done to increase the position and perception of brands - local or otherwise - in the regional market?
Some would suggest that the answer lies in high quality and consistent service - the argument being that anyone can build a fancy hotel or put up a sign with a particular brand on it, but a truly great hotel will earn repeat custom by giving guests an unforgettable experience.
It comes down to the fact that the bricks and brands are a level playing field - it is the brains that will help you get a leg up.
Perhaps it is appropriate then that we are once again at the time of the year when the industry gets together to nominate their colleagues for the Hotelier Middle East Awards.
With the deadline for nominations - October 16 - fast approaching, it has been extremely gratifying and enlightening to read some of the early entries in support of the industry's unsung heroes.
Those bricks and brands are still impressive, but soon it will be time to let the brains of your business truly shine.
In the meantime, I look forward to many more fantastic nominations.
Chris Jackson is the editor of Hotelier Middle East.
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