The Great GM Debate

The first ever conference hosted by Hotelier Middle East has been hailed a success by the 200 general managers, industry partners and suppliers that attended.

Held on September 29 at Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai, The Great GM Debate provided a first-of its-kind opportunity for UAE GMs to network with each other, interact with government officials from the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), and attend interactive educational workshops on some of the most pertinent industry issues.

As expected, the GMs were a lively bunch, and the event was recognised by all as the ideal platform to build relationships, share best practice and weigh up current challenges.

So what were the key issues on everyone’s lips? As expected, the ‘Working with Government’ panel session and ‘Working with Owners’ workshop generated much discussion.

Taking part in the ‘Working with Government’ panel, which was moderated by John Podaras, hospitality development manager, the Office of Darshan Hiranandani, were: Majid Sager Al Marri, director, Hotel Classification Department, DTCM; Nasser Saif Mubarak Al Reyami, director, Tourism Standards, ADTA; Omer Kaddouri, chief operating officer, Rotana; and finally Marc Dardenne, chief executive officer, Emaar Hotels & Resorts.

The panel debated who should have involvement in creating a hotel classification system.

“Each hotel will have its own classification, so I think that it is better that this is regulated by the government than another party,” said Al Marri.

Dardenne said that hoteliers sought more involvement in the process and urged the establishment of a regular forum comprising key stakeholders.

“Classification is the most difficult task in the world. It is a huge discussion point. The government should be the driving force but there should be consultation as well. There should be a formal forum. We are all looking forward to new classification,” said Dardenne.

The discussion also questioned the role the government should play in controlling supply.

Al Reyami explained that the government could not be responsible for doing that.

“What I personally see is no we can’t do that, I don’t think we can,” he said.

Dardenne agreed: “I also believe in free markets, I remember a couple of years ago we were talking about Madinat opening and I was at the Ritz Carlton and they opened a great business and we continued to do great business. The fact is we have opened a lot of hotels and I think it’s really market driven; when owners see that there are no returns to be made in the destination then the development will stop or slow down and we all know the hotel business is very cyclical”.

Many of the issues discussed were returned to in the final panel session, entitled ‘Where are we Headed?’ Moderated by Ròya International COO Gerhard Hardick, this session featured: Bani Haddad, VP development MEA, Wyndham Hotel Group; Michael Weyland, GM Hotel Division, Landmark Group; Christophe Landais, MD Middle East, Accor Hospitality; Darroch Crawford, MD, Premier Inn Hotels; Daniel Hajjar, CEO, Layia Hospitality; Oliver Key, GM, Armani Dubai; and Mike Scully, MD, Seven Tides Hospitality.

Here, many of the panelists were more vocal, with Landais and Hajjar receiving a round of applause for their comments regarding the need for more flexibility in classifications.

If you could not make the event, now is your chance to catch up on what you missed, with key outcomes from some of the workshops summarised over the next few pages.