Residents of the United Arab Emirates and travellers to the country want deals of value when they book a stay in a hotel, according to experts at The Hotel Show Dubai’s 20th edition on Tuesday.
The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority president Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who is the chairman of Dubai Airports and the chief executive and chairman of Emirates Airline & Group, inaugurated the event.
This event is aimed at professionals in the hospitality industry and is being held at the
Dubai World Trade Centre along with another seven shows – The Leisure Show, Workspace, FIM, FM Expo, Surface Design Middle East, Index and Index Home.
All of the shows run until 19th September during the Middle East Design and Hospitality Week, which has the theme ‘The Shape of Things to Come’.
A number of experts who spoke at a panel session at the Hospitality Leadership Forum noted the mid-market segment’s importance in the UAE hospitality industry’s evolution.
The Hampton by Hilton Dubai Airport’s general manager Nayla Chowdhury says that there is clearly an enormous demand for value among travellers in the business travel segment as well as the leisure segment.
Chowdhury says that the rise of mid-market hotels has made Dubai more inclusive, where there was previously something of a gap as the country was seen as a very expensive destination.
Chowdhury adds that since it opened in 2018, a substantial increase has been recorded, and the company has been able to operate at a fairly high occupancy rate within a market that is filled with products and brands.
The Millennium Place Marina’s general manager Manuel Garcia commented on the state of Dubai’s hospitality market, saying that the city has offered a platform for a number of international brands to be able to showcase various different offerings over a period of many years.
Garcia says that Dubai has always been a great destination for hospitality firms to showcase their resorts and hotels, so there is no lack of competition, and the city’s hotel pipeline is currently increasing with the substantial addition of another 139,000 keys to come in 2020.
However, Garcia adds that the challenge now is to look at the strategies being used to attract visitors and the benefits they can be offered.
Manzil Downtown’s general manager Sharihan Al Mashary spoke about how important it is for companies to be focused on their brand’s strengths and what it can offer to visitors, particularly during market conditions that are challenging.
Al Mashary says that businesses should invest in their workforce not by hiring new employees but by offering training programmes and sessions for staff members, which results in greater motivation among workers and then happier customers.
Al Mashary went on to add that examining the way that your brand differs from others and highlighting this can also help it to stand out from the crowd.
Anyone who is planning to travel to Dubai from elsewhere in the UAE or from overseas countries should take out travel insurance in order to protect themselves against unforeseen events such as illness and the theft of personal items while away from home.
