1. THE PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
AUGUST 2015 | WWW.HOTELNEWSME.COM
WhytheGDSremainsa
vitalsaleschannel
DISTRIBUTION
TACTICS
Swisshospitalityfirm’s
pipelineplans
MÖVENPICK
MANOEUVRES
TFGAssetManagement
researchexclusive
PRE-OPENING
STRATEGIES
NewWaveHotels
Why hoteliers should run their family resort more like a cruise ship
2.
3. CONTENTS
hot topics
features
08 | NEWS ROUND UP
A SUMMARY OF
REGIONAL AND
GLOBAL NEWS
26 | COVERSTORY
WHYHOTELIERS
SHOULDRUNTHEIR
RESORTLIKEACRUISE
SHIP
38 | F&BFEATURE
THENEW SOCIAL
FOODIEREVOLUTION
44 | TAKE 10
THE FUTURE OF
DESERT RESORTS
20 | THE PANEL
E-COMMERCE GURUS
DISCUSS THE DIGITAL
REVOLUTION OF
THE HOSPITALITY
INDUSTRY
34 | MID-SCALE
HOTELS
AN OVERVIEW
OF HILTON'S
MID-MARKET
MILESTONES
46 | MEET THE
EXPERTS
HOSPITALITY
SPECIALIST VIEWS
26
34
44
38
6. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 20156
ALITTLEBITLIKEASHIPWRECK?
PERFECTONLANDANDSEA!
SOPHIASOLTANI
Deputy Editor
ISITTIMEFORMOREHOTELSTOGOMID-MARKET?
When it comes to luxury, Dubai ticks all of the boxes. From
7-star hotels, to underwater dining digs with the majority of
travellers touting the city for it’s glittering lights and mind-bog-
gling skyscrapers.
But as of late, it has become apparent that Dubai developers and
hotel chains are directing their shareholders towards investing in
new mid-market hotels. So if one was to observe the current out-
look of the market, it has become plain to see that economy price
busting units are making headway in the region, with JLL report-
ing that almost 50% of the new 3,600 hotel rooms expected for de-
livery by year-endwillhave a3-starrating.
And according to Knight Frank’s July 2015 research paper:
Dubai’s mid-market hotel sector – stable performance in turbulent
waters, reported Dubai’s mid-scale RevPAR growth with a signifi-
cant dip in the luxury segment also showing that in the first quar-
ter of the year occupancy fell by 2.2% with average daily rates fall-
ing by 5% resulting in a 7% YoY RevPAR dip, only verifies the
strongshiftcurrently beingseeninthemarket.
So rounding up from our epic GM Leaders’ Conference which
took place last month, where panelists discussed ‘oversupply
woes’ in the luxury segment, as Carlos Khneisser, VP of devel-
opment, Middle East Hilton Worldwide raised a valid point: “In
order for Dubai to accommodate the influx of travellers who
will on average stay for three nights, the region is going to need
approximately 60 million rooms, therefore we still need more
than 70,000 rooms to pop up in order to facilitate the 20 million
anticipated visitors by 2020.”
So essentially, doesn’t this mean that there is room for growth in
both luxury and mid-scale hotels? Considering the drive for more
affordable accommodation, this should surely drive the region to-
wardsembracingnew lower costairlinestoo.
Being realistic, is Dubai really ready to become a
budget-busting city, and are hotel chains really willing
to grasp the concept of low cost rooms in a luxury-dom-
inated market?
MID-MARKET
MOMENTUM
THE PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
JULY 2015 | WWW.HOTELNEWSME.COM
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THE PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE FOR THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
JULY 2015 | WWW.HOTELNEWSME.COM
WhytheGDSremainsa
vitalsaleschannel
DISTRIBUTION
TACTICS
Swisshospitalityfirm’s
pipelineplans
MÖVENPICK
MANOEUVRES
TFGAssetManagement
researchexclusive
PRE-OPENING
STRATEGIES
NewWaveHotels
Why hoteliers should run their family resort more like a cruise ship
Follow us on our
social media pages
@hotelnewsme
/hotelnewsmme
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7.
8. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 20158
MoU to support Emiratisation in Abu Dhabi hotels
WHO SAID THAT?
"WHILE SOME MAY
INDULGE IN A
BURGER MEAL IN A
HOTEL IN GENEVA,
OTHER GUESTS MAY
OPT TO KICK BACK
WITH A GLASS OF
HOUSE RED WINE
AT LESS THAN SIX
TIMES THE PRICE IN
BOGOTA"
CAROLINA
ANNAND OF
HOTELS.COM,
COMMENTING ON
THE BRAND'S
CLUB SANDWICH
INDEX (CSI),
RELEASED LAST
MONTH AND
IDENTIFYING
GENEVA AS THE
MOST EXPENSIVE
CITY IN THE
WORLD
Abu Dhabi National Hotels and Abu
Dhabi Tourism and Culture Author-
ity have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to establish
a long-term strategic partnership to
encourage young nationals to join
the hospitality sector.
The collaboration is in line with
TCA Abu Dhabi’s “Kibrati” pro-
gramme and will further support
Abu Dhabi National Hotels to
develop and empower young UAE
Nationals to play a greater role in
the hotel industry.
Under the terms of the agree-
ment, TCA Abu Dhabi will facili-
tate the enrollment of Emirati stu-
dents in the Khibrati programme
by coordinating the recruitment
process and the relationship with
colleges and universities. Subse-
quently, ADNH offers internship
programmes developed at interna-
tional standards by its hotels oper-
ated by international brands: The
Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand
Canal, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Ho-
tel and Villas, Sheraton Abu Dhabi
Hotel & Resort, Le Meridien Abu
Dhabi, Hilton Abu Dhabi, Hilton
Al Ain and Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah
Beach. ADNH aims to retain the
trainees enrolled in the programme
once they completed their formal
education.
The MoU was signed by Hareb
Al-Muhairy, Board Member and
Managing Director of ADNH and
Nasser Al-Reyami, Standards Reg-
ulations & Licensing Department
Director, TCA Abu Dhabi.
Commenting at the occasion,
Hareb Al-Muhairy stated: “The de-
velopment of talented UAE nation-
als is a top priority for Abu Dhabi
National Hotels. We are excited to
partner with TCA Abu Dhabi in a
programme that encourages young
nationals to become part of the fas-
cinating world of hospitality.”
“With a collection of iconic ho-
tels managed by reputable hotel
operators, ADNH is uniquely posi-
tioned as a strategic partner in TCA
Abu Dhabi’s Khibrati Programme”,
said Al Muhairy. “Through our ho-
tels, we have unique capabilities
to provide training programmes
tailored to widely acknowledged
international standards to ensure
our interns will become part of the
hospitality world.” Nasser Al Rey-
ami, TCA Abu Dhabi, added: “We
are confident that the partnership
with ADNH, one of the largest
hotel owner and operator in UAE,
will give young Emirati students a
fantastic springboard into the hos-
pitality sector.”
REGIONAL NEWS
NEWS
"WE HAVE UNIQUE
CAPABILITIES TO PRO-
VIDE TRAINING PRO-
GRAMMES TAILORED
TO WIDELY ACKNOWL-
EDGED INTERNATION-
AL STANDARDS"
63%
47%
UAE RESIDENTS SAY
F&B IN A HOTEL IS
THEIR TOP SPLURGE
SOURCE: YOUGOV
OF THOSE TRIPS
LASTING LESS THAN
FOUR DAYS.
SOURCE: EXPEDIA
GO FIGURE
53%OF UAE RESIDENTS
TAKE AT LEAST ONE
BUSINESS TRIP PER
YEAR, WITH.....
9.
10. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201510
REGIONAL NEWS
8.2%
WHO SAID THAT?
“THE UAE HAS
RECOGNISED THE
NEED FOR
INVESTMENT IN
QUALITY OF
ATTRACTIONS TO
APPEAL TO ITS,
CULTURALLY
DIVERSE VISITOR
BASE. WE
FORECAST THEME
PARKS IN THE UAE
WILL ATTRACT 18M
VISITS BY 2021
VERSUS
SINGAPORE’S 6.7M
AND HONG KONG’S
15M," PHILIP
SHEPHERD,
PARTNER, PWC
DECREASE IN
OCCUPANCY TO 56.1%,
ACROSS THE MIDDLE
EAST AND AFRICA IN
JUNE 2015,
ACCORDING TO
MONTHLY DATA FROM
STR GLOBAL
GO FIGURE
-21%
Michael Menis, SVP of digital and voice
channels, IHG, speaking after the launch of
a suite of new tech products, from Stay.com
Mobile Folio , iBeacon tech and the IHG
translator for Apple Watch. Turn to page 20
for a full roundup.
Omani heritage a hit at Expo
“Heritage in Harvest: Harnessing the
sea, sun and sand” is the theme of the
Sultanate of Oman’s pavilion. It spans
four areas representing water, oases,
the sea and traditions, so it perfectly
encapsulates Oman.
In the first period of Expo 2015,
the Sultanate of Oman’s pavilion had
more than 570,000 visits. There were
over 15,000 visits a day, with an aver-
age duration of approximately half an
hour. More than 4,500 visitors have
got to know the country during over
150 guided tours. There has been all-
round satisfaction with the chosen
theme for the pavilion, partly because
it reflects the values of Expo 2015 and
most importantly because it tells the
story of an unusual, unknown coun-
try that sees water and its agricultural
traditions as an asset to preserve and a
driver of sustainable development.
“The initiatives
we showcased
today are
really exciting
because they
reinforce how
our digital
capabilities
add value
beyond the
booking”
Dubai pipeline leads MEA
A report published by for The
Hotel Show Dubai 2015 by
Top Hotel Projects reveals that
Dubai is leading the Middle East
and Africa for new hotel develop-
ments with 96 total projects and
36,523 rooms in the pipeline.
Dubai has been the Middle
East and Africa’s leading city
for hotel openings for the past
3 years, but activity is now at
an all-time high with the new
rooms to be added to the exist-
ing 65,000 reported by JLL as
currently available in 2015, set to
bring the total to over 100,000
by 2020.
The busiest year for Dubai
hotels is reported to be 2017,
with 30 projects opening to the
public. Dubai’s first fully solar-
powered hotel, Hotel Indigo
Dubai The Sustainable City,
and its first Mandarin Oriental
and Bulgari luxury hotels are to
open in 2017. The major Dubai
Pearl development, a “mix of six
innovative 5-Star hotels” is re-
ported to launch in early-2018
including Dubai’s first MGM
Grand and Bellagio hotels,
brands made famous by the Las
Vegas strip.
Other hot spots are Morocco
with 46 active projects, Riyadh
with 43 and Doha with 38.
Of almost 700 total hotel pro-
jects in the pipeline for the Mid-
dle East and Africa, 528 are listed
as being in the pre-planning,
planning and construction stag-
es, with local and international
investors now requiring the ma-
terials to build across technology
and security, interiors, food ser-
vices and more.
DOUBLE-DIGIT
DECLINE IN
OCCUPANCY
RECORDED IN
QATAR, JUNE/
RAMADAN 2015,
WITH REVPAR DOWN
-18.5%. HOWEVER
ADR WAS UP 3.2%
Viceroy The Palm, one of many
planned projects in Dubai
11. 20%DISCOUNT
For every purchase of the
5-Tray with 26 Hour Timer
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Only this month of August 2015. Get yours now while stocks last!
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tel: +971 4 354 5220
fax: +971 4 329 8283
12. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201512
REGIONAL NEWS
TFG Asset Management and Hotel News ME join
forces to launch pre-opening strategies whitepaper
Hotel News ME is to give readers
exclusive insights into effective ho-
tel pre-opening strategies, thanks to
a new partnership with TFG Asset
Management.
The two Dubai-based hospitality
industry powerhouses have joined
forces to launch TFG Asset Manage-
ment’s brand new Hotel pre-opening
strategies white paper in the Septem-
ber issue of Hotel News ME.
The comprehensive research paper
spearheaded by TFG Asset Manage-
ment’s head of asset management
Mariano Faz and his team, aims to
provide practical insights into how
hotel operators and owners can de-
vise ‘successful pre-opening strategies
in a timely and efficient manner’.
According to Pricewaterhouse-
Coopers (PwC) quoted in the paper,
more than 60% of hotel project fail-
ures take place in the fifth phase of
the hotel development process – the
pre-opening activities.
Reasons for this are many but
include missed deadlines, change in
scope and deficient resorts.
“Our pre-opening strategies paper
will discuss what steps the parties in-
volved in the fifth stage of a hotel’s
development can take to combat
common pre-opening issues,” ex-
plained Faz.
“From budget management strate-
gies to fostering better communica-
tion between operators and owners,
our paper is a comprehensive how-to
guide for everyone to follow.”
The paper has been compiled with
the help of hospitality experts includ-
ing general managers with proven
pre-opening experience.
“If all parties follow our hints and
tips they can look forward to a stress-
free experience next time they prepare
to open a new property,” added Faz.
In addition to the Hotel pre-
opening strategies white paper being
distributed with the September issue
of Hotel News ME, the publication
will also run an in-depth feature on
this hot topic.
“Hotel News ME is a publica-
tion for hospitality professionals that
thinks outside the box, providing in-
formation hoteliers and owners need
to know to run their businesses and
their assets more effectively,” said Di-
armuid O’Malley, group publishing
director at BNC Publishing, which
publishes Hotel News ME.
“By partnering with TFG Asset
Management to launch this exclu-
sive white paper we are arming our
readers with the tools and knowl-
edge they need to operate effectively
and efficiently in this fast-paced in-
dustry,” he added.
44%OF65K
NADEJDA POPOVA,
SENIOR TRAVEL
ANALYST, EUROMONI-
TOR INTERNATIONAL
“TOURISM IS OF VITAL
IMPORTANCE FOR
TUNISIA AND FOR THE
PERIOD 2013-2014
INTERNATIONAL
ARRIVALS TO THE
COUNTRY RECORDED
4% GROWTH. THIS IS
HIGHLY DEPENDENT
ON THE SAFETY AND
STABILITY IN TUNISIA.
THE RECENT
OUTBURSTS OF
VIOLENCE REPRESENT
MAJOR THREAT FOR
THE COUNTRY, WHICH
CAN ESCALATE THE
POLITICAL INSTABILITY
AND SECURITY ISSUES
IN THIS DESTINATION
AND ULTIMATELY KEEP
TRAVELLERS FROM
VISITING.@
ALLOCATED BY AL
FUTTAIM IN CAPITAL
GAIN TO SUPPORT
NOVOTEL’S GREEN
INITIATIVES
(SOURCE: HOTEL
SHOW)
GO FIGURE
AED3.3m
THE NUMBER OF
HOTEL ROOMS IN
DUBAI, Q1 2015,
WHICH WERE RATED
5-STAR
(SOURCE: JLL)
13.
14. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201514
REGIONAL NEWS
11%
WHO SAID THAT?
"WE WILL OFFER
OUR CUSTOMERS
TRAVELLING TO
AND FROM
DUBAI THE
OPPORTUNITY
TO DISCOVER
THE ADVANTAG-
ES OF BOOKING
FLIGHTS WITH
US, AND
TRAVELLING
WITH UBER”
INES CHUECA,
STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIPS
MANAGER,
MENA REGION,
DESTINIA.COM
OF THE WORLD
TRAVEL COMMUNITY
IS MUSLIM (SOURCE:
GMTI 2015)
GO FIGURE
3.9m
R Hotels reveals another major devel-
opment plan for the group with the
new 182-key hotel in Ajman Cor-
niche. With a total investment of
AED150 million (USD40.9 million),
the construction is expected to com-
mence in the third quarter of 2015
with the target opening date of Q1
2017. The new hotel will be located
beside Ramada Beach Hotel Ajman,
which is also owned and managed by
R Hotels. Targeting both the leisure
and corporate segments, the property
will feature rooms with sea views, a
restaurant, spa and fitness centre and
indoor swimming pool.
RHotelsunveilsplansfornew
hotelinAjman
Sharjah Commerce
and Tourism
is installing
interactive touch-
screen information
terminals in all 5-
and 4-star hotels
and luxury hotel
apartments to
engage visiting
tourists as part
of the strategy to
attract 10 million
tourists by 2021
DowntownDesign2015toreturn
This October, Downtown De-
sign, the region’s only quality-
driven design trade fair, moves to
the new Dubai Design District as
the commercial centrepiece of the
inaugural Dubai Design Week.
Now in its third year, Down-
town Design has doubled in size
to present a roster of 85 estab-
lished and emerging brands from
all parts of the world, across a
variety of product categories:
furniture, lighting, bathrooms,
kitchens, textiles and accessories.
Of this year’s brands, some 13
exhibitors are returning, such as
Bohemian lighting brand Lasvit
from Czech Reuplic, Dubai’s Na-
kkash Gallery and climate con-
trolled cellar environments from
Canadian Vin de Garde. New
exhibitors include premium Ital-
ian bathroom company Antonio
Lupi, Denmark’s premier silver
brand Georg Jensen, Hacker
Kitchens and Rolf-Benz UAE.
The 2015 edition will also
unveil ‘Destination’, a unique
alliance with six international
Design Weeks: Beijing, Helsinki,
Istanbul, Melbourne, Mexico
City and San Francisco. Uniting
at one ‘Destination’: Dubai, each
Design Week, in cooperation
with Downtown Design, will
present three of their most excit-
ing emerging brands for the first
time on the global stage, allow-
ing visitors to discover innovative
new talent.
Downtown Design takes place
27-30 October, 2015. Visit to
downtowndesign.com for up-
dates.
REVISED TARGET FOR
TOTAL GUESTS TO
ABU DHABI IN 2015,
FOLLOWING RECORD
BREAKING H1
PERFORMANCE
RECORDED BY TCA
20%
YOY GUEST NUMBER
INCREASE, ABU DHABI
Baranksa glass chandelier of sea
flowers in blue and gold
>>>FOR MORE NEWS VISIT HOTELNEWSME.COM
15.
16. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201516
FACE TO FACE
T
he advent of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)
and numerous web-based distribution plat-
forms has forced GDS providers to up their
game in order to remain competitive.
Travel suppliers, including hotels, have a number of
distribution channels from which to choose, and are in-
creasingly looking to cut out the middle man and drive
direct sales through their own websites.
At the same time, traditional agencies have needed
to stay relevant in a market place dominated by online
players. They have demanded the GDS provide access
to global content and rates in real time as they get to
grips with using technology to book non-air travel
products and services.
One of the ‘big three’ GDS players, Travelport, has
been tackling these new market challenges head on,
according to the firm’s senior vice president and manag-
ing director of global hospitality, Niklas Andréen, who
spoke to Hotel News Middle East.
“Over the past three years, Travelport has focused
on its travel commerce platform and has been heavily
investing in hotels and aviation compared to its com-
petitors,” he says.
“The question has been ‘how can we make the global
hotel content that is out there, not just the content on
NiklasAndreen,seniorvice
presidentandmanaging
director–globalhospitality,
Travelport,explainshowthe
GDSremainsavitalsales
channelforbrandedandnon-
brandedhotelchainsalike
DISTRIBUTION
TACTICS
17. the GDS, available to the trade?’ Because it should be a
natural extension of selling an air ticket.”
He notes that big global hotel brands represent a rela-
tively small share of the world’s total accommodation
offering and all of the “key chains” are now available
through the GDS.
Travelport’s hotel portfolio currently amounts to
650,000 properties, which has been supplemented by
content provided by “a number of aggregators”, includ-
ing OTAs and leading wholesalers.
The mission now, therefore, is to bring more inde-
pendent non-branded properties into the fold in order
to provide the trade with the most comprehensive range
of global hotel content possible, says Andréen.
“[To this end] about a year ago we acquired a
London-headquartered company called Hotelzon, a
hotel-booking tool with ties to independent hotels,
particularly in Europe,” he explains.
“Historically these hotels have had no angle to get
into the GDS, but we have now built up an inventory
that’s second to none.”
But it’s not just about content, he stresses. “It’s rates
and availability, because Hotelzon allows us to distrib-
ute its corporate negotiated rates, including tailormade
deals for specific partners and markets, in real time.
“This was the last remaining piece of the puzzle – to
not only distribute pre-paid rates, but the corporate
negotiated rates of big hotel brands and independent
chains. We believe we are the global leader in terms of
hotel GDS B2B distribution,” he adds.
AGENT ON BOARD
Of course, providing access to unrivalled inventory and
rates is only one part of the equation. Getting agents to
sell them is the tricky part, particularly given the trade’s
inherent booking traits, which lean towards air-only
GDS transactions.
It’s an entrenched behaviour that has made some
hotels reluctant to push inventory through the GDS.
However, Travelport is doing its best to change the way
agents work through training in the use of the Smart-
point prompt; asking flight-only customers if they also
wish to book a hotel.
“We are helping travel agencies re-learn their behav-
iour by rolling out training to help them move away
from air-only bookings,” confirms Andréen.
“We have also introduced agent alerts [through Trav-
elport’s ‘Smartpoint’ feature], so if they book a flight,
they are sent a prompt to ask them if they have booked
a hotel.”
The message is slowly sinking in, continues Andréen,
who notes the number of hotel and car bookings per 100
air segments has grown from 41 in 2013 to 43 in 2014.
“I am hoping our full-year results will show further
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18. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201518
FACE TO FACE
improvements in our non-air performance,” he says. Ad-
ditional incentives to book hotels are built into Smartpoint,
which allows agents to conduct air and hotel searches at the
same time, displayed on the same screen.
HOTEL MERCHANDISING STRATEGIES
Andréen says Travelport’s hotel partners are starting to reap
the rewards of distributing through the GDS with sales
transactions on the rise.
“Hotels are interested in the corporate business because
it tends to be high-yield and what we are offering is this
corporate business in bulk,” he says.
Travelport has also refined its hotel merchandising offer-
ing, which Andréen explains is “going in two directions”.
“Some hotels want to bundle - where the room is booked
but extras such as breakfast and WiFi etc are added on and
sold up front. Leisure hotels tend to take this ‘selling add
ons’ route,” he explains.
“Others are opting for the corporate negotiated rate or
BAR, which already includes extras, designed to help corpo-
rates get better control of their costs.
“Where the merchandising comes in is how do we dem-
onstrate on screen the difference between these rates.”
Travelport is also working closely with its hotel part-
ners to refine merchandising in terms of speed and search
criteria, whereby displaying pages of rate rules are avoided
at all costs.
“We are trying to get hotels to highlight specific data
fields, so agents are presented with hotel rates at first glance
and know whether or not they are commissionable,” An-
dréen says.
Work is also ongoing to fine-tune Travelport’s mobile
merchandising strategy given the visual constraints of a
smaller shop window – the smartphone or tablet screen.
“The challenge is to help travel agencies in the mobile
space take what’s relevant, because it’s a different shopping
experience,” confirms Andréen.
“We need to work with hotels to jointly structure our servic-
es and send out the right information, not all the information.”
“WE BELIEVE WE ARE THE GLOBAL
LEADER IN TERMS OF HOTEL GDS
»» Star rating and global brand affiliation heavily influence
which channels dominate online bookings. For
example, global branded hotels have comparatively
high direct sales, while bookings among three-star
non-branded properties are largely OTA driven
»» OTAs dominate online sales among mid/low tier hotels
and most regional and non-branded/independent
hotels, irrespective of star rating.
Did you know?
“WE BELIEVE WE ARE
THE GLOBAL LEADER IN
TERMS OF HOTEL GDS
DISTRIBUTION”
25%
$54bn
43
42% 51%
7%
7%
GLOBAL
BRANDS
of all Middle East travel
bookings are made online
The value of offline
travel sales in the
Middle East in 2014
This is forecast to grow
to $63 billion in 2017
The number of hotel and car
bookings per 100 air segments in
2014, up from 41 in 2013
MIDDLE EAST HOTEL INVENTORY
BREAKDOWN
REGIONAL
BRANDS
NON-BRANDED/
INDEPENDENT
PROPERTIES
19.
20. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201520
AYSE ABBAS,AREA DIGITAL MARKETING
MANAGER, MIDDLE EAST, TURKEY AND
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, CARLSON REZIDOR
DANIELSCHOLLES,
E-COMMERCEEXECUTIVE,KEMPINSKI
OTELAJMAN
The role of ecommerce in hospitality can often be underplayed in
the industry, what responsibilities fall under your job role?
Abbas: The role mainly involves driving traffic and creating incremen-
tal revenue to direct channels, which is the main focus at the moment
with the OTA business being so dominant with the high commissions
being paid from the hotels.
Some of the activities include creating different tactical campaigns,
SEO and pay-per-click, and there are a lot of activities we do on a
daily basis. Another thing I do, and it’s due to the nature of our job, is
training and explaining to our stakeholders what I’m doing and what
the benefits are.
Tom: Ultimately, the role goes beyond advertising and promotions
and it leads back to generating actual revenue on the hotel’s web
channels including social media. From a wider perspective, it isn’t just
online but digital as it integrates offline media such as mobile, print,
radio, TV and press.
Responsibilities cover: branding and promotion to improve the
presence of the brand on the web; creating and implementing digital
advertising campaigns, e.g. PPC, CPC, SMS; video marketing;
preparing digital communications pertaining to the property includ-
ing newsletters (HTMLs); and managing all social media channels,
mobile marketing channels and third party sites, to name a few.
Additional responsibilities include: managing online marketing
budgets including media buying; maximising press coverage on online
publications and blogs; online reputation management (ORM);
managing hotel and restaurant listings on third party sites; tracking,
evaluating and responding to reviews online; and conducting regular
quality assurance audits to ensure parity on all online channels.
The digital
revolutionThismonthHotelNewsMEtalksto
tech-savvye-commercegurustofindouthowhotelsareridingthewaveof
successfromonlinebookings,toOTAsandsocialmediaplatforms
BLAISEN TOM,
E-COMMERCE MANAGER, AMWAJ
ROTANA DUBAI
AFTAB SAYED, DIRECTOROF
E-COMMERCEANDDIGITALSERVICES,
MARRIOTTINTERNATIONAL,UAEHOTELS
THE PANEL
21. Scholles: I am in charge of a large number of different operations,
including SEO to increase the visibility of the hotel in different
search engines. I am also in charge of SEM, search engine market-
ing – which is a tool like SEO used to increase the hotel’s visibility
in search engines through public campaigns like pay per click. I also
do remarketing, for example, we send emails and SMS blasts to our
existing database to inform them of our current promotions, packages
and offers.
Lastly, and most importantly I look after the website management
of OTAs in terms of our visibility, I also
do other smaller tasks in conjunction with
the public relations department, including
monitoring reviews on social media, respond-
ing and analysing them. And with regards to
ecommerce, we are in charge of boosting the
exposure of the property on social media to
raise awareness.
Schwetje: At Anantara the role of e-
commerce is quite comprehensive and in
addition to web related activities such Search Engine Optimisation
and marketing, e-commerce is also responsible for electronic distribu-
tion. Subjects such as reputation management, social media, website
management and optimisation as well as packaging, is collaboratively
handled by working closely with the marketing team.
Sayed: That’s true as it can be underplayed, but inevitably e-
commerce will be the vital pivot for the future of hospitality glob-
ally, take airlines for example, how many people nowadays go into
a travel agent store to book a flight? Very few.
Responsibilities which fall under my remit range from anything
and everything touching online space and mediums. From
managing our Marriott.com websites content to OTA content
and relationships, imagery and online marketing strategies just to
name a few. What we have to understand now is that e-commerce
is no longer the side-kick of the super hero, it’s now the main star,
because of the central and integral role it plays in driving people
to the hotel.
How would you say that ecommerce has changed in the industry?
Scholles: E-commerce has made the whole hospitality industry faster
and increased the pace and the system. Traditionally, people used to
visit a local travel agency, pick up a brochure, glance at the pictures,
listen to the agent’s recommendations, check the prices and book.
Nowadays, people just browse online checking prices, comparing
hotels in the area and looking at other guest reviews.
Tom: A great tell-tale sign is the allocation of marketing spend be-
tween print media and digital media and we see that there is a shift in
how marketing folks are choosing to assign their budgets. The fact is
that the return-on-marketing-investment of digital campaigns can be
much easier identified.
Also, because of digital media, the guest’s experience of the hotel
starts from before they book the hotel. Any guest can build their
expectation of the hotel from the look and feel of the website, the
quality of imagery and the prices they charge before they book or
check-in.
Abbas: Tremendously, I started in the field of e-commerce when
things started picking up in the Middle East and if I compare now to
10 years back, especially here in our region, more and more consum-
ers are going online with more confidence in purchasing goods over
the Internet. If you look at digital advertising spends in the Middle
East, it is growing at a rate of 35-40% each year.
Sayed: E-commerce is changing the face the
industry. For example, just to look at the
usage of mobile phones and the way every-
one has adopted an online, tech mindset,
especially the millennials.
They are online natives who have skipped
the whole desktop experience and have
been spear heading the personal device in-
dustry. These are the very same people who
are in line to be our next gen customers
and they need to be served as they are used
to being served. This is not going to be an evolution but a revolu-
tion for the online hospitality space.
Schwetje: E-commerce is bringing new business opportunities to
the global travel and tourism industry hence why it is vital for a
company to have someone dedicated to maximise opportunities.
E-commerce is a progressive and developing area which changes on
a daily basis, so you need to be on the ball in order to not miss-out
on new trends.
Theexperts
SEBASTIAN SCHWETJE, AREA
DIRECTOR, E-COMMERCE, ANANTARA
HOTELS & RESORTS, ABU DHABI
“BIG PLAYERS IN THE
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY HAVE
SET GUIDELINES AND POLICIES
TO HANDLE THEIR REPUTATION
MANAGEMENT ONLINE”
22. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201522
With the evolution of the new ‘connected customer’ have online
sites such as Trip Advisor increased the
importance of reputation management and
damage control?
Abbas: Everyone is connected nowadays and it
is so easy to share experiences within seconds
with the capacity to go viral within minutes.
Online reviews can turn things upside down
for the reputation of a company. Therefore
nowadays most of the big players in the hospi-
tality industry have set guidelines and policies
to handle their reputation management online.
Tom: We would not say that there has been an
increase purely because the hospitality business
has always thrived on the intangible. A long
time ago we stopped selling products and
started selling experiences, which means that
we started to value word-of-mouth before the
advent of review websites. Any hotel will tell
you that there is at least one point of feedback
collection whether it be a printed survey form
or an auto-generated email sent to a guest after
their stay. Therefore, this makes online review
sites yet another form of feedback collection.
The difference is that the world is able to see
it, which works in our favour because then the
world is also able to see our response to the guest.
Schwetje: Many companies see social media as
a threat however I believe it needs to be seen
as an opportunity, as it helps identify eventual gaps within the organ-
isation. Reputation management is time consuming but definitely
worthwhile as it enables hotels to drive performance and the customer
experience.
Scholles: Absolutely, people can go onto a
number of different review sites and view
detailed guest experiences, which ultimately
influence their decision and with these online
platforms we can use positive reviews to assist
guests in making their bookings. Neverthe-
less, negative reviews have to be managed
properly, responses must be professional and
responded to in a short period of time.
Sayed: As a case of best practice all review
sites need to be monitored and all bad or
issue reviews need to be responded to as it
is paramount to be viewed as an engaging
entity as opposed to an inactive forum on
the internet. In many ways review sites are
a good representation of what your property
offers and they also facilitate good indicators
for areas of improvements.
What are some of the key factors to con-
sider when planning a digital strategy?
Sayed: I would say that there are two main
factors; firstly, are you prepared with your
current infrastructure, deployment and
technological systems? Secondly, what is your
aim? You need to have very specific goals in
place to be able to hit your targets.
Many companies fail on step one and are
not fully prepared for the long-term commit-
ment of the infrastructure surrounding them to make plans successful.
Tom: Key factors include, accessibility – how the potential guest
THE PANEL
In the MEA region,
the telephone
handset market
grew to its largest
size in more than
two and a half
years by the second
quarter of 2014,
with Saudi Arabia
representing the
largest market in
the region with a
mobile penetration
of almost 200% - an average of two
mobiles per user.
Studies have also shown that mobile
use has become the preferred method to
research, plan and book travel. Consumers
are increasingly going straight to mobile
devices and mobile bookings are growing
faster than desktop bookings.
In fact, IHG saw a 20% increase in the
volume of bookings via mobile phones
compared to just 2% for desktop computers
in the first six months of 2014. Smartphones
and tablets now account for more than 20%
of our hotel bookings and in-app bookings
account for 12% of total mobile bookings.
What all of this data shows is that the
rise in use of mobile technology presents a
huge opportunity to transform our guests'
experiences with us. As one of the world's
leading hotel companies , delivering quality
technological solutions across the entire
guest journey is at the top of our list. We
have a long track record of innovating
through technology to ensure we meet
the needs of current and future guests,
starting with being the first company to
offer online bookings 14 years ago and
being the first international hotel company
to launch booking apps now available in
13 different languages and the number
one rated mobile app in travel as voted on
the Apple Store. And we are consistently
Pascal Gauvin, chief
operating officer,
India, Middle East and
Africa, InterContinen-
tal Hotel Group
HANDS ON WITH E-COMMERCE:
23. AUGUST 2015 HOTEL NEWS ME 23
will find you. Target market – accurately targeting the people you’re
looking for and when. Measure – how you will track the success
and return-on-marketing-investment (ROMI). Aim – defining what
success looks like at the end of the campaign. Budget – not just how
much you want to spend but how you wish to deploy it whether in
part or as a whole.
Abbas: Be customer centric. Choose your target market carefully so
you can customise your message accordingly and always include your
mobile strategy in your plans; mobile marketing is crucial in today’s
digital world. Set your KPIs and your expected returns and ensure all
the activities can be tracked easily.
Schwetje: Our digital strategy is dictated by what we are hoping to
achieve. We consider what we want the end result to look like and
then work backwards. Often in e-commerce many actions appear
as non-revenue related, but in fact there is a correlation. The overall
digital strategy has to support the overall goals of the property. One
of the strengths of e-commerce is the immediacy of the channels and
also strong evaluation capabilities inv terms of measuring success and
ROI. There is no guess work.
Scholles: We have to know who our customers are, where they come
from, what they are looking for and how old they are, it is crucial to
understand your audience. Based on that, we can set up our digital
strategy to reach the right group of people through the use of proper
tools. If our main visitors are young, dynamic business-oriented
travellers then they can easily be reached through social media and
online marketing.
adding new functionalities, such as geo-
fencing with a separate IHG Translator app.
In April this year, we announced our
partnership with Amadeus to develop
a next-generation Guest Reservation
System. This will be a new cloud-based
community model, a first in the hotel
sector, and similar to the model developed
for the global airline industry. We will work
closely with Amadeus on the design,
functionality and evolution of the system,
which will ultimately replace HOLIDEX, our
proprietary reservation system.
Most recently, we also announced that we
have started trialing and selectively rolling out
several digitally-driven innovations to provide a
more personalised and interactive experience
with our guests. Travellers who enjoy sharing
their travel plans with their peers will welcome
our partnership with digital travel service Stay.
com, where guests booking to stay with IHG in
one of more than 50 key destinations globally
will be able to use the portal to research and
plan their travel as well as create personalised
travel guides to share with friends and family.
Our mobile-savvy guests will also appreciate
the ability to check in and out via their mobile
devices, and view their hotel bill in real time, on
their mobile devices, before receiving their final
bill with Mobile Check Out, via the IHG® App.
Feedback from our guests is a great way
for us to understand their needs and cater
to them. We are also mindful that quick
responses to requests from our guests
are essential to improve guest satisfaction.
With this in mind, we are trialing IHG Guest
Request, a service which allows guests to
make a request instantly through the IHG®
App. The App then uses a platform which
logs, assigns and tracks requests.
Building trust amongst our guests is a
priority for us, and we are confident our
new initiatives will help reinforce how
our digital capabilities add value to them
beyond the booking opportunity.
How do you push certain brands through digital platforms?
Abbas: The biggest channel we use to push forward our brands is
social media. It is easier to create the brand image in a consumer’s
mind on social media.
We have a very strong social media presence pushing our different
brands on multiple channels mainly on Facebook, Instagram and
twitter. Also both brands Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson have
two great blogs that we push content based on travellers’ experiences
on a daily basis.
Scholles: We are mainly focusing on promoting our 10 food and
beverage outlets and so we use specific channels for that including
Zomato, Foursquare which is free to use, and RoundMenu as it pro-
motes the brand and brings it closer to our target audience.
In terms of engaging people with our rooms, the most important
platforms are definitely OTAs. It is important to have popularity,
which gives you good exposure on review sites. For example, the more
popular you are on TripAdvisor, the more it will impact your rating. It
can all be driven through paid advertisements on different sites or by
simply being actively engaging with guests.
Schwetje: Digital is massive and it’s all about the content with spe-
cial emphasis on the images to ensure that there is recognition value.
Consideration of the audience on each channel is key to ensuring
valuable marketing funds are not wasted. It is really taking into ac-
count the traditional five Ps of marketing and translating those into
the digital arena.
“ALWAYS INCLUDE YOUR MOBILE STRATEGY
IN YOUR PLANS, MOBILE MARKETING IS
CRUCIAL IN TODAY’S DIGITAL WORLD”
24. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201524
Tom: When a guest has checked in to stay with us, we understand
that WiFi is something 90% of our guests use, so we are sure
to highlight our promotions relevant to in-house guests on the
sign-in page since we know that it will be looked at and this has
proven to be more effective than featuring our promotions on an
in-house TV channel.
Sayed: At Marriott we are lucky to have powerful online sites with
all of our brands functioning under one umbrella. We are already in-
tegrated digitally, via mobile optimised sites and apps on all devices.
How do you convert OTA clients into direct bookings?
Scholles: We are currently working on this and we are attracting
guests to book directly by advertising special offers and adding value
with late check-out and special in-room amenities. We are also utilis-
ing regular direct electronic mailers to our existing database to make
them aware of special promotions and offers.
Sayed: We offer our customers great benefits when signing up to our
loyalty programs and OTAs have long been viewed as a source for
cheaper room-rates, but this isn’t always true especially for us as at
Marriott as we are striving to have the most competitive rates avail-
able on our own website channels so that the best available rate is the
same no matter where you book it on the internet.
Tom: We respect our relationships with our online partners and the
value that they bring to our business. This is why we work hand in
hand with them, not to take clientele away from them but to provide
them with opportunities to further sell our hotel online to their pool
of clients.
Schwetje: OTAs are a very valuable channel for us at our Anantara
Abu Dhabi properties, generating 20% of our overall revenue. The
OTAs invest heavily in their own digital marketing, so we would
never have the funds to compete on the same level as them. We do
have our own strategies in place to engage with our OTA clients
post-stay, keeping our packages and special offers enticing is one
method to engage, but also identifying this guest as having booked
through an OTA and inviting them back with special privileges.
Abbas: Loyalty marketing is key in converting OTA clients to book
via our websites, it is about using the database we have to commu-
nicate with those customers and maintain that relationship with key
messages tailored to different segments. Another key thing is to let
them know about the benefits they will get on our direct channels.
How do you select which OTAs to work with?
Tom: The first key factor is prominence of the OTA in the
region and where you are expecting the major
market share. What’s equally important
is the relationship that you strike up
with them in terms of partnership terms
and rates.
Once a deal is struck, there is
need for continuous assessment of
production against your goals. Looking at the rise in mobile market-
ing, sizeable consideration must be given to OTAs who optimise
their sites for mobile devices and preferably have a mobile app too.
Sayed: We only work with partners who can produce the volumes
that will be mutually beneficial for both parties. For us there are two
big players in the market, Priceline and Expedia, but we do occasion-
ally partner with smaller OTAs depending on our market needs.
Scholles: It depends on the brand and target audience. For example,
if you are the most luxurious hotel in the Maldives, you will use an
exclusive OTA to advertise on, and as a brand promise you can’t
work with any others. In our case, we use the main OTAs, which
give us the highest level of exposure amongst our target audience.
Schwetje: Each OTA has specific target markets, hence if we contract
a new partner it should ideally not dilute business from an existing
one. Another criteria is that each OTA is compatible with our chan-
nel manager, which is SiteMinder, in order to guarantee seamless
distribution. Having said that, we do work with some OTAs who are
not on systems compatible with SiteMinder, but can offer access to
the niche markets we want to tap into.
What would you say are some of the challenges in maintaining
OTAs?
Tom: The challenges are more on the hotel’s side than on the part
of the OTA. On a daily basis, new hotels are added to the listings
and new offers run. If the hotel’s team doesn’t keep an eye out, it
could move down the listing or appear less popular, so due time has
to be allocated to constantly monitor the hotel’s position against its
competitors. Also, refreshing the hotel’s page either with new content
or images is important too.
Sayed: In my personal view I’d say it is connectivity. It is always a
challenge to ensure that the two systems are always talking to each
other and remaning on the same page.
Scholles: The main challenge is definitely the high commission
that OTAs charge, and it has dramatically increased over the
past few years due to the growing popularity of online bookings
among clients.
Schwetje: Cancellation policies are the biggest challenge, there is
inflexibility in terms of changing cancellation policies to ensure
materialisation. For example, a year round cancellation policy
in general would be different to what you would
implement for the festive season. The
OTAs make it quite difficult to set different
cancellation terms for those particular
periods.
“OTAS HAVE LONG BEEN
VIEWED AS A SOURCE FOR
CHEAPER ROOM-RATES, AND
THIS ISN’T ALWAYS TRUE”
27. AUGUST 2015 HOTEL NEWS ME 27
COVER STORY
T
he value of the global family travel sector and
its growth potential have been well docu-
mented, valued at $140bn in 2013, account-
ing for more than 12.5% of the US$1.07tn
total tourism market, according to Thomson Reuters.
The market will be worth an estimated $180bn
annually by 2018 and Gulf destinations such as Dubai
have made no secret of their vision to take a slice of this
lucrative pie.
Yet contrary to popular belief, the region’s hotel
market is far from geared up to cater to this swell in
family business.
While countries like the UAE boast impressive hotel
construction pipelines, which include family-orientated
resorts across the 3- to 5-star category, there are few
current or upcoming properties that are truly dedicated to
the needs of travelling families.
All too often a resort will adopt a one-size-fits-all
strategy, whereby to maximise revenue-earning
potential, it will target families during peak holiday
periods but then fill off-peak gaps with corporate and
MICE guests.
It means family facilities and services are often
compromised because this market is not the resort’s
sole focus.
This strategy, adopted by the majority of resorts in
the UAE, is understandable, but it does mean the
industry is behind the curve in that a niche family
resort concept is lacking.
It also means there is room to improve the region’s
current resort model, according to many family resort
and childcare specialists, who argue a renewed focus on
what today’s family travellers demand should be taken
into account, from the expectation of professional
childcare services and facilities that stimulate and
educate to designated dining times for kids and special
children’s menus.
This topic was hotly debated at the May edition of
Arabian Travel Market where at the education session
entitled ‘Family Fortunes’, video coverage of which is now
available on www.arabiantravelmarket.com and YouTube,
found the hospitality industry would do well to look to
the cruise ship model for inspiration.
Helen Beck, regional director, International Represen-
tatives – EMEA, Royal Caribbean International (RCI),
which is one of the world’s most prolific family-orientated
cruise lines, told ATM delegates how the company had
perfected the art of offering comprehensive and profes-
sional family facilities and entertainment programmes.
Here, Beck and experts in the family travel and hospitality
professionals discuss how the UAE’s hotel industry can
draw inspiration from floating resorts where value for
money and high-quality family fun are top of the agenda.
WHAT THE CRUISE EXPERTS SAY:
Beck says while the UAE boasts “many excellent resort
hotels”, very few of them focus on the family segment in
terms of their facilities and how they market their
properties.
Both she and Lakshmi Durai, CEO of Travel Matrix,
the Middle East representative for Celebrity Cruises, part
of the Royal Caribbean International group, agree that
while many UAE resorts organise activities for kids, few
break them down by age.
“We have learned that having activities dedicated to
specific age groups very much enhances all the children’s
enjoyment of our onboard clubs,” says Beck.
“Three year olds have very different playing and
entertainment requirements to 11 year olds so we dedicate
separate rooms to each age group.”
Durai says resorts should also cater better to teens and
young adults.
“Celebrity Cruises runs the X-Club for teens featuring
sports and social activities including teens-only night
clubs,” she explains.
Beck says it’s “critical” to offer children’s clubs out of
hours too. “One of our successes has been to run evening
programmes allowing parents to have time alone,” she
explains. “On Royal Caribbean International we’ve even
implemented a ‘speedy’ dining experience for families
called My Family Time Dining whereby everyone has
dinner together, but the kids get a faster service and are
picked up by our Adventure Ocean staff when they’re
done to take them back to the fun, leaving the grown ups
to carry on with their leisurely dinner.”
RCI’s award-winning Adventure Ocean Youth and Teen
Programme is complimentary and offers families a
creative, educational and entertaining programme
dependent on age with children split up into five age
groups (see cruise case study 1).
In addition, family entertainment and activities
available onboard are often free of charge too, so floating
resorts offer “great value for money”, stresses Beck.
“In general, the only chargeable service is in-room
babysitting,” she says.
Family facilities offered on Royal Caribbean ships
include swimming pools, a rock wall, FlowRider, mini
golf, ice skating, open-air cinema, zip line, bumper cars,
Dreamworks parades – featuring well-loved characters
such as Shrek, Princess Fiona, the penguins from
Madagascar – plus Xbox gaming and Broadway-style
shows, to name but a few.
The cruise firm has also refined its accommodation
offering with families in mind.
“Royal Caribbean has debuted family-connected
staterooms onboard its Quantum Class ships, which
deliver more flexibility,” says Beck. “Ideal for multi-gener-
28. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 2015
COVER STORY
ational families, these staterooms have special layouts and provide
separate bedrooms and bathrooms to ensure every family can
vacation together in a hassle-free environment.”
Triple or quadruple rooms that can accommodate families
together in one room are also available and ideal for parents with
babies and toddlers.
Pricing wise, Royal Caribbean works to “load factors”, selling
beds rather than rooms, Beck continues.
“We have a strong focus on maximising room occupancy,” she
explains. “We have family pricing programmes and due to the high
quality of our family services, we are able to command a premium
for our triple and quadruple rooms at peak times of the year.
Equally, in the shoulder seasons, we offer free child places or
reduced family rates to encourage those families to travel at different
times of the year.”
Beck says hotels can adopt similar room and pricing strategies
during holiday season or year round to maximise family satisfaction
and revenue simultaneously.
Clever sales and marketing strategies can then be rolled out to
promote the hotel’s family focus, she adds.
Beck says she believes the cruise industry is the “pioneer of
delivering creative, fun, engaging family holidays” that cater to
all ages.
“The hotel industry could do far worse than to look at Royal
Caribbean’s ‘floating resorts’ of Allure and Oasis of the Seas® to take
learnings from the activities, entertainment, service and all round
fun that we offer to really develop an outstanding family product,”
she says.
Her topline message however, is that hotels and resorts that
decide to target families must demonstrate a commitment to deliver
an “excellent experience”.
“It’s not enough to just stick a sign on an unused conference
room, fill it with a mixture of toys, recruit a couple of people to
‘baby sit’ the kids then call it a ‘Kid’s Club’,” she stresses.
“The family travel market is a significant one and we’ve found the
children become our best ambassadors as they have such positive
memories of their time onboard.”
WHAT THE CHILDCARE PROFESSIONALS SAY
It’s all very well having kids clubs and babysitting services, but
unless they are run by qualified staff, discerning customers will not
take these facilities seriously or be confident their children are safe in
their care, stresses Beck.
She says hotels need to employ “experienced and well qualified
professionals who are used to dealing with a variety of ages and
nationalities”.
“Every member of Royal Caribbean’s youth programme team
holds a four-year qualification in education, recreation or a related
subject,” she notes. “We recruit professionals on all ships year-
round, demonstrating our commitment to the family holiday
experience.”
Kate Dicker, a senior consultant at Worldwide Kids Company,
notes that all too often, hotels try to implement facilities without
considering the operational aspects, particularly in the design of the
childcare facilities and the qualifications and training of the staff.
“In the same way that resorts outsource niche services like spas,
they should consider bringing in specialists to assist them in the
complex area of specialised childcare,” she says.
“So often in the Middle East we see style over substance –
HELENBECK,
REGIONALDIRECTOR,INTERNATIONAL
REPRESENTATIVES–EMEA,ROYAL
CARIBBEANINTERNATIONAL
KATEDICKER,
SENIORCONSULTANT,
WORLDWIDEKIDS
COMPANY
MIKESCULLY,
MANAGINGDIRECTOR,
FIRST&FOREMOST
HOSPITALITY
FREDRIKREINISCH,
REGIONALGENERALMANAGEROF
THEUAEANDSEYCHELLES,JA
HOTELS&RESORTS
Thepanel
Royal Caribbean’s
legendary FlowRider
surf machine
The H2O Zone
kids’ waterpark
on Oasis of the
Seas
Cruise ships offer
flexible dining
times for families
29. many hotels and resorts I have visited proudly show me a
highly-designed area, with pools and playgrounds as well as
banks of computer games and screens. Theyfeel they provide a
wonderful service, when in fact the staff are untrained and
unqualified, trying to run a programme of activities written by a
manager who lacks childcare expertise.”
Dicker believes few resorts in the UAE are truly dedicated to
families and those who do offer childcare services often compare
unfavourably to the high quality offering found on board reputable
cruise lines.
“On a cruise ship the market is captive so there is no option but
to provide services for all age groups. The same attitude should be
true for resorts,” she argues. “In order to keep the family guests in
resort, enjoying and spending their money in the on site restaurants
and entertainments, there needs to be a good reason to stay and if
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CRUISE CONTROL
Top tips from the cruise lines
1. Run age-specific programmes and clubs for
all your young guests, from zero to teens and
segregate them into groups
2. Offer family dining sessions and kids’ menus
3. Employ qualified childcare professionals
4. Offer childcare services and kids activities at
night to give parents the chance to enjoy their
meal or entertainment
5. Re-think your room configurations to make
families comfortable and maximise revenue by
selling beds not rooms
6. Offer kids’ facilities that you can market, from
zip wires to surf machines
7. Sell and market yourself as a family hotel
or resort, rather than a hotel that welcomes
families
8. The more family- and child-friendly facilities
and activities you offer on site, the more time
and money guests will spend at your property
Some ships even
have their own
rock-climbing wall
30. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201530
COVER STORY
experience but perhaps is best known for managing two of Dubai’s
leading luxury family resorts, the Westin and Le Meridien Mina
Seyahi – has teamed up with a company already excelling in this
field: Mayer Family Hotels, which operates 56 top-end family hotels
and resorts across Central Europe.
Scully says there are no "real players” in the GCC’s family hotel
market in that no one provides a full entertainment programme.
“[But] we offer a holiday for all ages and our resorts are divided
into three main areas - kids zones, mixed pools and play areas, and
adults-only restaurants, bars and pools,” he says.
“Our hotels could easily be described as mini cruise ships on land
due to the resemblance of facilities and care that we offer.
“For example, parents and older siblings can enjoy the attractions
of a city or theme park while we look after the really young ones.”
Mayer properties include purpose-built annexes within the room
for young children; a crèche for babies and toddlers operated by
nurses and fully-trained carers; mini water parks; plus a theatre for
kids’ productions.
“All these facilities make us quite unique and add substantial
value to the property through RevPAR,” says Scully, “plus our
repeat guest rate is 75%.”
Fredrik Reinisch, general manager, UAE and Seychelles, JA
Resorts & Hotels, agrees there are few specialist family hotel
operators in the market.
“Many high-end resorts offer a children’s club or holiday
activities, but only accommodate certain age groups. Family resorts
that truly cater to every member of the family are not actually all
that common,” he says.
“It takes effort, time, responsibility and consistent service.
Professional safe childcare adds to operating costs, so a resort has to
be genuinely committed to the cause when positioning itself as a
family resort.”
JA Resorts & Hotels is an exception to the rule, he says, with
Dubai’s JA Jebel Ali Golf Resort offering “expert care” at a crèche
that accommodate babies as young as four months.
“The crèche, CoolZone for children and ChillZone for teens are
initiatives that we run with the professional expertise of the
Worldwide Kids Company,” explains Reinisch.
“ON A CRUISE SHIP THE MARKET IS CAPTIVE
SO THERE IS NO OPTION BUT TO PROVIDE
SERVICES FOR ALL AGE GROUPS. THE SAME
ATTITUDE SHOULD BE TRUE FOR RESORTS.”
ALLURE OF THE SEAS®
WHAT’S IT GOT?
ROYAL BABIES & TOTS® NURSERY
Here, little cruisers (aged 6-36 months) are cared for by
trained professionals. Daytime and evening drop-off is
offered.
ADVENTURE OCEAN® FOR KIDS
Kids clubs are divided into three age groups: Aquanauts
(age 3–5); Explorers (aged 6-8); and Voyagers (age
9-11). Activities range from the Environmentation Station
Science and Scavenger Hunts to Girls versus Boys Night.
TEEN PROGRAMME
Age 12-14: Scavenger hunts, arcade challenges and rock-
climbing competitions during the day and movies and pool
parties at night.
Age 15–17: Teen-only spaces allow young adults to hang
out until late.
MY FAMILY TIME DINING
Eat with your family at the first seating. Kids get served
first so they can enjoy Adventure Ocean activities while
parents continue their dinner. Alternatively a babysitting
service is offered for a fee.
COMPLIMENTARY ACTIVITIES
• Dreamworks Entertainment – sail with your favourite
characters or watch the parade or the latest
Dreamworks movie
• Mamma Mia –the full production show
• Zip line
• FlowRider – ride the waves on our surf simulator
• H20 Zone kids water park
• 3D movies
• AquaTheatre shows
• Carousel – the first one on the high seas
• Ice-skating rink
• Mini-golf course
• Poolside movie
screen
• Rock wall
• Teen-only spaces
the children of all ages are cared for brilliantly on site there is no
reason to leave.”
Dicker says UAE resorts can learn from the cruise industry
because “many cruise liners do childcare services very well”.
“They have really researched the market and established a niche
the hotel industry would do well to emulate, particularly with their
care of all age ranges. It is time for UAE hotels and resorts to take
what is offered at sea and translate that to the beach.”
WHAT THE HOTELIERS SAY
One hotelier hoping to make waves in the Gulf’s hotel sector is
Mike Scully, managing director of First & Foremost Hospitality, a
new resort brand dedicated to families, which has set its sights on a
Gulf market debut.
Scully – who boasts more than 20 years of hospitality sector
Casestudy1
The JA Witbit Water Park at
JA Jebel Ali Golf Resort
31. The resort’s mission, he says, is to offer experience-seeking
families a memorable holiday that makes them want to
return for more.
“When Mum and Dad leave satisfied – knowing that their
kids had fun, while they also had enough time for themselves
– it increases the likelihood of repeat guests,” he adds.
JA Resorts & Hotels has carved a niche as a family-focused
operator, with JA Oasis Beach Tower and JA Palm Tree Court
recently named the ‘Top 2 Hotels for Families in the Middle
East’ and JA Jebel Ali Golf Resort winning the World Travel
Award as the ‘Middle East’s Leading Family Resort’ for three
consecutive years.
“Of course, hoteliers can learn from cruise ships, but we
believe the key to running a successful family-focussed
hospitality product is a combination of [responding to] guest
feedback, partnerships with specialised providers and team
training,” says Reinisch.
“Suitable family additions will vary from property to
property, but through these efforts we have made enhance-
ments that resulted in loyal guests that return year after year.”
CELEBRITY CRUISES
WHAT DOES THE CRUISE LINE OFFER?
KIDS’ PROGRAMME
Toddler Time (children under 3): Fun Factory staff
members provide suitable toys for this age
group.
Ship Mates (ages 3-5): Activities range from
themed parties to treasure hunts.
Cadets (ages 6-8): Relay races, team trivia,
talent shows and pizza parties are on the
agenda.
Ensigns (ages 9-11): Activities include pool
Olympics, Karaoke and late-night parties, to
name a few.
X-Club Teen Entertainment (Ages 12-17):
Supervised fitness activities, talent shows,
parties, gaming and sports tournaments are
some of the options for young adults.
COMPLIMENTARY ACTIVITIES
• Celebrity Life activities: Include trivia
contests, Karaoke, interactive video games,
fast-paced game shows and more;
• The sports activities: Include pool volleyball,
basketball, golf putting and tournaments;
• Xbox stations and mobile consoles: Play or
free play or take part in Xbox tournaments;
• Video project for young directors: Using the
GoPro Hero 3
• Fun Factory: For children aged 3 to 11 years
where group activities include games, sports,
crafts, music, karaoke, treasure hunts, theme
parties, movies and more;
• Babysitting services: In the Fun Factory and
in individual staterooms.
Casestudy2
32. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201532
GROUP OVERVIEW
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, an international
upscale hotel management company with more
than 16,000 staff members, is present in 24
countries with 82 hotels, resorts and Nile cruis-
ers, representing 19,996 rooms. The company’s
focus is to expand in its core markets across
Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Möv-
enpick Hotels & Resorts specialises in business
and conference hotels, as well as holiday resorts,
all of which are designed to reflect a sense of
place while respecting their local communities.
Of Swiss heritage and headquartered in central
Switzerland (Baar), Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts
is passionate about delivering premium service
and culinary enjoyment – all with a personal
touch – and has also earned a reputation as the
hotel company with the most Green Globe
certifications in the world. The hospitality firm is
jointly owned by Mövenpick Holding (66.7%)
and the Kingdom Group (33.3%).
CURRENT MEA PROPERTIES
26 hotels in the Middle East
»» Bahrain (1)
»» Jordan (5)
»» Kuwait (2)
»» Lebanon (1)
»» Qatar (2)
»» Saudi Arabia (9)
»» United Arab Emirates (6)
UPCOMING PROPERTIES
7 properties under contract in the Middle East
»» Mövenpick Hotel Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
(433 keys)
»» Mövenpick Hotel City Star Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia (230 keys)
»» Mövenpick Residences Al Khobar, Saudi
Arabia (270 keys)
»» Mövenpick Hotel Financial District Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia (353 keys)
»» Mövenpick Hotel Dubai Media City, UAE
(246 keys)
»» Mövenpick Hotel Apartments Downtown
Dubai, UAE (246 keys)
»» Mövenpick Hotel Heraa Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
(227 keys)
RIYADH DEBUT
Mövenpick Hotel Riyadh, which will open in
Q4 this year, marks the group’s first property in
the Saudi capital and takes its portfolio in the
kingdom to 10 hotels. Located on Al Fahd Road
in Riyadh’s business district, this contemporary
business hotel will offer 433 guest rooms and
suites, the largest inventory in the city. Ad-
ditional highlights include a 1,200-square-metre
Riyadh Grand Ballroom with a built-in bridal
suite, as well as an attractive F&B offering –
Acacia, a Michelin-starred French restaurant by
Pierre Gagnaire, and four international specialty
outlets, including Naya, serving contemporary
Lebanese cuisine.
SAUDI FOCUS
Five of Mövenpick’s upcoming properties are
pipelined for Saudi Arabia with two planned for
Riyadh, two for Jeddah and one for Al Khobah.
It will take the group’s portfolio across the king-
dom from nine to 14 by 2019.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND MILESTONES IN 2014
AND 2015
»» In the latest Middle East Brand Ranking Index
conducted by independent research consultancy
firm BDRC, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts
ranked second in terms of brand recognition.
»» The company introduced a new brand
promise - ‘Natural Enjoyment’ - delivering a
“relaxed, uncomplicated experience.”
»» 2014 developments included the takeover of
a property in Karachi plus the opening of a
new hotel in Casablanca and a new resort in
Koh Samui.
CHAIN FOCUS
MövenpickHotels&Resorts
HOTELNEWSMETAKES A LOOK AT THE SWISS HOSPITALITY FIRM’S
CURRENT AND UPCOMING MIDDLE EAST FOOTPRINT
Mövenpick Hotel Riyadh
Mövenpick Hotel City
Star Jeddah
33. »» In 2014, nine new management agreements
were signed for properties in
»» Kochi,India; Casablanca, Morocco; Les Berges
du Lac, Tunisia; Koh Samui, Thailand; Down-
town Dubai, UAE; Erbil, Iraq; Jeddah and Al
Khobar, Saudi Arabia; and Basel, Switzerland.
More than 25 Mövenpick hotels and resorts
are currently in development.
»» The company also launched its ‘Shine’ Global
Sustainability Programme in 2014, focusing
on education initiatives in the communities
where the firm operates it properties.
MARKET CHALLENGES FACED
"In this industry things change fast and in order
to turn opportunities into real wins we need
to adapt quickly. The digital world has made
a significant impact on the way guests choose
and book their accommodation, influenced by
social media, consumer-generated content and
technological in-room features. Brand websites
and OTAs are currently the main generators of
bookings, a development that has changed the
traditional commercial environment.
Retention of employees is also a growing indus-
try challenge and we continuously endeavour to
enhance our selection process to keep retention
rates high.
Being in this business also requires a proactive
approach to address unexpected situations, such
as geopolitical events and economic uncertain-
ties. The economic downturn in Europe resulted
in a decline in revenues for some of our hotels
in that region. This was offset by improved per-
formances across the Middle East, particularly
in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Our balanced
portfolio split over Asia, the Middle East, Europe
and Africa ensures the company’s continued suc-
cess." Says Tamim.
KEY GOALS FOR THE NEXT 12-18
MONTHS
"The Middle East and North Africa is our fastest
growing region in terms of new developments
and our strategy is to expand our presence at
a sustainable rate. To this affect we recently
appointed Amir Lababedi as vice president for
development, Middle East and South Asia. We
plan to consolidate our position as one of the
Middle East’s dominant hospitality firms with
plans to add more than 10 hotels across the
region by 2020." Adds Tamim.
MAKING THE MOST OF TECHNOLOGY
"As hoteliers we need to exceed guest expecta-
tions with our technology service offerings, while
keeping things functional, simple and easy to
use. We endeavour to customise our technology
services so they deliver real value to our guests.
The goal is to achieve a balance, striving for
efficiency while maintaining a human touch. We
want to provide experiences that make our guests
happy, and this is always a key consideration
when we introduce new technology."
CHAIN FOCUS
Luxury Gourmet Olives from around the world
Come visit our market every Friday at The Ripe Market - Zabeel Park
Telephone:
+971 56 4806518
Email:
ross@tgom.me
Website:
www.tgom.me
thegourmetolivemarket.me
#thegourmetolivemarket
@tgom_me
Distributed by:
Toufic Tamim, vice
president sales and
marketing, Middle East &
South Asia, Mövenpick
Hotels & Resorts
34. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201534
MID-SCALE HOTELS
Three starred Michelin chef,
Andrew Clough, SVP development,
Asia Pacific and Middle East, Hilton
Worldwide and Carlos Khneisser, vice
president of development, Middle
East, Hilton Worldwide tell
Sophia Soltani why mid-market
hotels make more sense than
ever and how Hampton by Hilton
and Garden Inn are set to make
waves in the mid-market segment
I
n recent months it has become apparent that Dubai is
undergoing a market shift towards the increased develop-
ment of mid-market properties, underpinned by govern-
ment initiatives, the rise of the Gen Y millennial traveller and
the growth of the middle class in key source markets who
are looking for price stability and value for money.
And as Knight Frank’s July 2015 ‘Hospitality report
– Dubai’s mid-market hotel sector – stable performance
in turbulent waters’ highlighted Dubai’s mid-scale
RevPAR growth and a significant dip in the luxury
segment. The research paper showed that in the
first quarter of the year occupancy fell by 2.2% with
average daily rates falling by 5% resulting in a 7% YoY
RevPAR dip.
In light of the recent statistics, it is no wonder that
Hilton Worldwide is proactively cashing in on this new mid-
market boom, with plans to double its presence in Dubai
with eight mid-market additions to its portfolio
of hotels, including Hilton Garden Inn
Bur Dubai, Hampton by Hilton Dubai
Mid-market
milestones
Andrew Clough, SVP
Development, Asia
Pacific and Middle East,
Hilton Worldwide
Andrew Clough, SVP
Development, Asia
Pacific and Middle East,
Hilton Worldwide
Hampton by Hilton Al
Qusais exterior
35. AUGUST 2015 HOTEL NEWS ME 35
Al Mina and Hilton Garden Inn Dubai Mall of the Emirates.
Discussing the brand DNA of Hilton’s budget and mid-
scale hotels, Carlos Khneisser, vice president of development,
Middle East says,“Hampton is a brand that started in the US
about 30 years ago and we now have 2,050 hotels trading
worldwide in 17 countries, and we are set to have our first
Hampton hotel in this region. It will be the largest Hampton
in the world with 420 rooms.
When you think about the Hilton family brands, Hampton
is a point of entry from a price perspective, it is all about value
and so we offer free breakfast, complimentary WiFi and so the
product is typically at the lowest price point that we can rea-
sonably achieve. When we think of a market like Dubai that is
typically known for its 5-star hotels, we are on a quest to make
Dubai more of a leisure destination for a wider audience of
people. Not everyone has the financial capability to stay in a
five-star hotel.”
Explaining why now is the right time to launch into the
mid-market sector for Dubai, Andrew Clough, SVP of de-
velopment, Asia Pacific and Middle East, Hilton Worldwide,
explains: “There is business demand here and when you take
a look at the business strategy that has been mapped out here
for 2020, plus efforts made by Emirates airlines to convert
connecting travellers into over night stays, there are genuine
incentives in the region to encourage affordable brands like
Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton.
“We also see the great benefit in having these mid-scale
properties, because we are able to boost and balance out our
rates for our luxury properties as opposed to continually drop-
ping our rates. We will have a clear distinction between our
luxury brands, our budget and mid-scale brands.”
Touching upon the brand’s understanding of the Middle
East, Clough continues, “if you stand back and take a look
at Hilton, we have been in the Middle East for more than 50
years, so in terms of understanding source markets and new
growth areas, having been here through the ups and downs we
have created this great knowledge base and infrastructure in
Hilton Garden Inn
Dubai Al Jadaf
36. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201536
MID-SCALE HOTELS
order to move ahead with aggressive plans to tap into new
markets, such as mid-scale hotels.”
And defining the difference between Hilton’s mid-scale
properties to others in the region Clough, adds: “Hampton
is our largest brand, its growth rate is phenomenal and is
really the category killer for other mid-scale hotels. We
brought the Hampton brand out of North America in
2008. So each market that we have approached we started
with a clear view of our Hilton DNA, but also a blank sheet
in relation to making it fit the current market."
"When you walk into a Hampton’s hotel anywhere in
the world you know what you are getting, we reflect the
brand’s DNA in every hotel worldwide and that is what
makes our mid-market brands so successful. People
trust us based on our consistency,” adds Khneisser.
And with eight mid-scale properties already in
the pipeline, Khneisser adds: “We feel that now
is definitely the right time to grow out mid-scale
brands and Dubai has been the best place in the
Middle East to start unveiling Hampton and Garden
Inn properties, but we are looking into some leads in
Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The moment that we launched
the brand in Dubai we had plenty of interest from
other locations in the MENA region.
“Saudi is a rich country with
a lot of resources and internal
tourism, the government is
also spending a lot of money
on the infrastructure, so
secondary cities are grow-
ing, including Jizan and
Jubail, which still lack
hotels in industrial
locations hence
why Saudi
Arabia is a key
area for us.”
With Dubai renowned for its luxury sector Clough
points out why mid-market hotels are making more sense
than ever: “If you look at the way hospitality markets evolve
and in the more formative stages of the cycle you see luxury
and upscale hotels rapidly develop, but then as markets
mature even further that is when the segmentation really
comes in.
When considering Dubai, it is already way past the
tipping point where mid-market hotel developments
make compelling sense. The market already has a
phenomenal array of luxury hotels and you
will still see the development of that
space grow but it now makes sense to
build up that middle to encourage
growth in tourist numbers.”
“With the 10% municipality fee
waiver the government here is incen-
tivising investors to build these three
and four-star-hotels and this has
also helped fuel the appetite for such
brands. In addition to this, budget and
mid-market hotels are attracting a
totally different segment, and
in peak season, room
rates in Dubai
are extremely
high, isolating
guests that
are budget
conscious and
so mid-scale
brands will
encourage them
to visit, we want to
be their preferen-
tial choice,” adds
Khneisser.
HILTON GARDEN
INN BUR DUBAI
Key features:
• 292 guest rooms
• Located in a
prime area of
Dubai Creek
• Walking distance
from Souk Al
Kabeer
• Two food and
beverage outlets
• A large multi-
functional
meeting room
• 24-hour
business center
and Pavilion
Pantry
• A swimming pool
and health club
HAMPTON BY
HILTON DUBAI AL
MINA
Key features:
• Located
near Dubai
International
Airport
• 206 guest rooms
• Breakfast area
• A bar and
gathering zone
• Gym and
swimming pool
“WHENYOUCONSIDERDUBAI,ITIS
ALREADYWAYPASTTHETIPPING
POINTWHEREMID-MARKET
HOTELDEVELOPMENTSMAKE
COMPELLINGSENSE”
Carlos Khneisser, vice
president of develop-
ment, Middle East, Hilton
Worldwide
37.
38. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201538
F&B FEATURE
Despite emerging 20
years ago, many brands
still struggle to harness
the capabilities of social
media. Melanie Mingas
seeks the expert opinion
on user generated content,
buying fans and how online
connections became a well-
oiled selling machine
The
new
social
39. AUGUST 2015 HOTEL NEWS ME 39
I
t used to be the case that what happened online, stayed online.
But as the online and offline lives of consumers merged,
marketers had no choice but to consider their customers
as “fans” and to begin promoting products via a series of sepia
filtered images and hashtags, published to an audience it is likely
may have never experienced that product first hand.
Suddenly it wasn’t just luxury that was aspirational. The hotel
in an exotic country you one day hope to visit; the fun new games
concept over the road that you’re rallying friends together to try;
the new shoes that haven’t launched in this country yet; a new
combination of your favourite, everyday foods, as prepared by a
complete stranger with a social media footprint. People dared to
dream and through social media, dream they did.
Now every brand is clamouring for a spot on the consumer’s
bucket list and the multi-platform networks designed to connect
us in the most innocuous, flippant, way have become a well-oiled
selling machine.
But not every brand account can post a picture of eggs bene-
dict and sit back while it goes viral for no apparent reason – and
no number of KPIs from management can change that. So what’s
the secret?
“Followers flock to brands which engage emotionally. Every
day, customers face thousands of different pages and simply don’t
have time to engage in all of them. You must provide them an
experience that the others don’t,” says Ayse Abbas Carlson Rezi-
dor digital marketing manager for the Middle East, Turkey and
sub-Saharan Africa.
“There isn’t a single brand today which does not exist on social.
It has become a crucial tool for customer engagement and every
day more resources are invested in social media as brands work to-
wards the continued growth of their online fan base,” adds Abbas,
who handles social strategies across Facebook, Instagram, twitter
and Google+ as well as brand blogs for Radisson Blu and Park Inn
and the group’s digital marketing.
Engagement: intangible, obscure and paradoxical in a world
where attention spans have shrunk exponentially over the last
decade is one element, but perception must also
be considered.
“The trick to it is not to ‘market’ to people, but to
involve yourself in their experience,” explains Alan De-
vereux, managing director of social media agency CaveChalk.
“If they take a picture of your food you click like, you
share and you re-upload to other networks and tag the
picture taker. If someone in a venue takes the time to talk
to the staff and say thanks, the management – sometimes
even the chef – comes and makes a big deal. They don’t drop
a pamphlet on the table that says 10% off you next pizza, but
on social that’s all that seems to happen,” he advises.
In his recent work, “netpreneur” John Thomas was tasked
by a fine dining client to drive footfall for lunch service
through social media. Using an activation campaign, hashtag
and rewards incentives for sharing images, he was able to
achieve a 40% increase in covers, directly attributable to Insta-
gram, as well as new fans and followers.
He says: “KPIs should be set accordingly. They could be web
conversions, lead generation, online purchase, website signups,
enquiries, or sometimes merely social interactions like downloads,
views or shares.
“If, for instance a client’s goal is awareness of the brand on
social media, then the metrics we track and analyse are reach and
exposure. If the goal is increasing engagement, then the metrics
are usually retweets, comments, replies, shares, and likes. Lastly if
the goals are more about website conversions and purchases, then
we track URL shares, clicks, and downloads,” he continues.
Devereux, who before establishing CaveChalk worked in
journalism and PR says that, while engagement KPIs can be
formulated, how people react to a social campaign can sometimes
be anybody’s guess. He observes: “Take #KSA for example, this
hashtag on twitter is apparently viewed 96 million times a day.
Meanwhile brands are trying to force people to use their own
hashtags. People doing one thing; brands doing another.”
TO UGC OR NOT UGC?
As the saying goes: Facebook is the largest content platform
without providing its own content, YouTube is the most used
video streaming service, without producing video. It seems that
brands too can boost their popularity through content originating
from others.
Yet famously, many chefs have banned guests from picturing
their food for social media, as much for the reputation manage-
ment of the restaurant as the comfort of other diners.
Where the story originated from is hard to decipher but
reports came from the US, UK and France of unhappy chefs
wanting to protect their most treasured dishes from low quality
photography. Meanwhile the technarati press had already declared
the dawn of a new genre in amateur photography and as of June
this year Instagram had 178 million photos tagged #food, as
counted by Wired magazine.
However the jury is out on “eat and tweet” as a means of
engagement.
Ravneet Arora, who works in content and analytics for Icon-
sulthotels, comments: “UGC is very powerful and has a much
bigger impact on a person’s decision making than official updates,
La Pergola Restaurant, Rome
Cavalieri
40. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201540
adverts, or write-ups on other websites or in magazines.
“It isn’t feasible to regulate the trend and doing so is likely to backfire.
Besides, why would you want to curb it? Every picture shared is a free adver-
tisement for your restaurant, so rather than restrict it, you should actually
encourage it,” she adds.
But as Arora explains there are many ways both the restauranteur and
the diner could find a middle ground. Advising on the creation of a “social
hotspot” in the venue, or the training of bar and wait staff to encourage
guests to take pictures is both genuine and helpful – and far less invasive
than a venue asking its patrons if it can picture their private moments for
public social media accounts.
At the end of the day, unless your guest is a prominent blogger or food
personality the social impact of a grainy food picture is likely to be minimal,
but their complaints when their freedom to take that picture is restricted,
have the power to go viral.
“Food pictures are very popular on many social networks and we’ve seen
many cases where customers have actually walked into one of our clients’
outlets just because they’ve seen a picture they liked online,” Arora adds.
Thomas agrees: “At a time when brands all over the world are vying for
content why would any hotel or chef want to ban their diners from taking
or uploading food pictures? I think, on the contrary, these chefs must
actually encourage diners to click more and share their experiences online
with their network.”
On occasion however, the chef or restaurateur may be happy for patrons
to get snap happy, but fellow diners are not; as with everything there is a
time and a place and the internet isn’t always it.
THE PIED PIPER
The existence of a page is one thing, but an embarrassingly low number of
followers can drastically undermine a brand’s reputation. Being liked has
never been more important.
For new outlets and pages this is particularly difficult. Promotion
of handles and hashtags has become so mainstream many consumers
don’t even register them when they see the famous @ and # on a menu
or advert.
Adding to the mix, engagement metrics are a science in themselves but
there are ways to ensure you’re brand is not banished to an empty table,
without amassing an audience of bucket-list writers.
Social can easily be summarised as attractive visuals, carefully chosen
witty words, which are reflective of the brand and engagement goals, and
an army of offline ambassadors to convert guests into likes and vice versa.
Championing the targeted method, Arora asks: “What’s the point of
having a lot of followers if most of them will never visit your outlet(s)?
“Ours’ is a people industry, so we work closely with the staff in our
clients’ properties and outlets to ensure social media is integrated into
the everyday operational reality of their businesses. That is, staff en-
courage guests and visitors to connect and share, or to use social media
channels for feedback,” she adds, revealing that clients of Iconsultho-
tels enjoy the combination of organic engagement, paid advertising
to targeted audience segments, and cross-promotion of social media
accounts online and offline.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
HOW TO DO IT
• Don’t join social media because everyone else
did. Ask yourself if there is really a need.
• Don’t look at social media as another
marketing channel to broadcast outbound
promotional messages. See it as a channel to
listen to your customers.
• Don’t spread yourself thin by joining every
single network out there. See where your niche
audience are and you’ll figure out where you
need to be.
• Don’t post too often or post too rarely. Follow a
content calendar and adhere to a pattern.
• Don’t delete or ignore negative comments
and feedback and don’t block people that
leave such comments. Listen to the aggrieved
customer/fan and try to offer a solution
• Don’t make the mistake of ignoring your
audience and not taking time to understand
what they like and dislike. Analyse your
published posts and gauge audience reaction.
Plan future posts based on these sentiments.
• Don’t oversell your product, brand or service.
Have an interesting mix of content that will add
more value to fans.
“AFANWHOISNOT,ORHASNEVERBEEN
AGUEST,ISASUSEFULTOTHEVENUE
ASMYLIKEOFTHELAMBORGHINIPAGE
ISTOLAMBORGHINI”
F&B FEATURE
41. AUGUST 2015 HOTEL NEWS ME 41
THE TO DO AND
DO NOTS OF
SOCIAL MEDIA
Alan Devereux, managing director
of social media agency CaveChalk.
“Don’t look at social media as a
marketing channel, it is best suited
to customer service and business
development. They choose to follow,
they choose to interact, they choose
to block. They choose to spend
money with you. Reward them
with more than a picture of as nice
looking pizza.”
John Thomas, netpreneur and advisor
“Social media is all about being
social. It is about people following
things they love to hear about,
things they are passionate about
and things that make them happy.
So focus your attention on making
your brand more social and worry
less about doing Social Media.
Let every single post, message
or interaction from the brand on
the social space be based on this
understanding.”
Ayse Abbas Carlson Rezidor digital
marketing manager for the Middle
East, Turkey and sub-Saharan Africa
“Publish content to encourage
users to share and talk about you.
Put yourself in the customer’s
shoes and see the relevancy and
the uniqueness of your content.
If it does not inspire you to read,
probably it will not for others as well.
Also, do not link your social media
channels for automated posts.
Remember each platform is unique
and has a different purpose and
character.”
Ravneet Arora, content and analytics,
Iconsulthotels
“Don’t do social just for the sake of
it. Every post, update, or advertising
campaign, has to have a reason
and focus. Know why you’re doing
something. Is it to build loyalty?
Drive footfall? Increase awareness?
You need to understand the unique
personality of your outlet(s) or brand
and reflect it in your social media
goals. Without goals, your activities
won’t be effective.”
Strong results were recorded in a recent campaign using Facebook
pixels, building custom audiences, and re-targeting website visitors
and email subscribers. The bottom line isn’t always about money, but
reflecting the personality of the establishment and the behaviour of the
target audience. Both of which feed into the overall number of likes
and followers.
For Thomas, who launched the social media presence of Italian Jazz
singer Cecilia Herrera, Emmy-nominated Filmmaker Beno Saradzic,
and Emirati Author Khaled Mohammed Al Maskari, it’s something he
first successfully achieved through his personal account, organically
growing his following from 200 family and friends to 54,000 “fans”
around the world.
“I realise now that it was all about the quality of content on the page
and the level of engagement I maintained with my community all the
time. Keeping the content fresh, interesting and share worthy, posting
regularly, sharing new knowledge, ideas and information, accepting and
acknowledging the community’s views, giving them a voice, are just a few
aspects that helped me build an engaged community and a strong personal
brand online.”
How strong such an approach will endure as the concept of paid follow-
ers gain pace, is anybody’s guess. With social now taking worrying strides
towards an all-paid content model, the idea of organic shares, likes and
even the concept of “viral” itself faces a drastic threat.
Organic is about brands earning their way onto news feeds, while paid
will push the “10% discount pizza” model Deveraux warns of. In order
to retain the last social elements of social media and conquer the idea of
emotional engagement, brands must merge their online and offline worlds
for their own sake and for the sake of everybody else who holds a social
media account.
As Deveraux concludes: “Fans should be guests. A fan who is not, or has
never been a guest, is as useful to the venue as my like of the Lamborghini
page is to Lamborghini.”
42. HOTEL NEWS ME AUGUST 201542
+17% +20%
-2%0%
-28% - 48%
HOT TOPIC
SHARIAH COMPLIANT HOTELS- A SPIRITUAL INVESTMENT
We often hear about Sharia complaint hotels, however the term is not
often fully defined. In order for the hotel investment industry to fully
understand what is needed to develop a Sharia compliant hotel, it is
important to consider a number of different factors including design,
operation and brand and financial systems, all of which need to be
aligned with Sharia rules and principles.
The term 'Sharia compliant' tends to be used inap-
propriately, often referring to a hotel that does not serve
alcoholic beverages, however it is much more than this.
To provide a framework for the hotel industry,
Sharia compliant hotels can be divided into three
categories: “Dry hotels” which do not serve any
alcoholic beverages within their premises; 'partially
compliant' hotels which in addition to dry hotels have
some separate facilities for men and women; and 'fully
compliant hotels.'
As hotel development is a science, evolving with
generations and responding to demand drivers, develop-
ing fully compliant hotels faces a number of
challenges particularly in design and
operation. For example, when
we look at the design of a
hotel room, the bed and toilet
should not face the Qibla. When it
comes to operations, a number of
other factors should be considered,
such as the exclusive employment
of Muslims, and appropriate guest entertainment.
In some instances, when there is the segregation of sexes with
separate cafes and restaurants, and only married guests are permitted
to occupy the same bedroom, hotels need to look closely at capacity
management. In some cases, they may lose revenues by turning
away demand that does not match the room available, such as when
a floor is dedicated to a particular type of guest, for example women
or unmarried individuals.
In the competitive and fast-paced hotel industry, branding is
also essential for the success of a hotel. For the consumer and for
prospective employees, a brand is a perceptual construct
- it exists in people’s minds and in the hotel business
is a proxy for service and quality level. A hotel brand
is a means of identification and differentiation, and an
assurance of the delivery of a known product/service.
Above all else it communicates a promise.
A hotel brand name is part of the process of giving
tangibility to what is essentially intangible, provid-
ing a ‘shorthand’ method of establishing a particular
property’s quality by giving the customer important
information about its product and service, sight unseen.
But how many of the global brand and brand standards
are really Sharia compliant? Arguably the likes of Shaza Hotels and
Rayhaan by Rotana are the best known brands in the region which
strive to comply with the rules and principles of Sharia law.
Beyond spirituality, the development of a Sharia compliant hotel
is an investment which has to be sustainable. The success of the
investment and its operations depend on whether there is sufficient
demand to maintain it, and on whether or not the travelers who are
demanding Islamic hotels are willing to pay a premium to access
Islamic hotel facilities and services.
ANALYST CORNER
Taking a look at some of the MENA region’s rolling highlights and YoY RevPAR variance percentages
from Colliers International, with a commentary from Filippo Sona
MENA HOTEL UPDATE
Filippo Sona, director head
of hotels, MENA region,
Colliers International
SHARM EL SHEIKH
Ramadan has been
anticipated to have
a negative effect on
domestic demand,
however European
demand will continue
to grow stronger than
in 2014.
HOT SPOTS
WORK IN PROGRESS
SURE AND STEADY
SHEIKH ZAYED
ROAD / DIFC
It is expected that
RevPAR levels will
remain stable over
the next three months
due to a decreasing
occupancy and a
growing ADR.
WEST BAY
LAGOON
Discounted
summer room
rates to keep
attracting leisure
tourism in Doha’s
seaside resorts.
LUXOR:
Recent terrorist
activity is set
to keep tourists
at bay in the
medium term, but
is set to pick up.
stabge.
FUJAIRAH
Occurrence of Ramadan along with stabilisation
of new hotels to keep marketwide occupancy
levels below last year.
MAKKAH
The last 10 days
of Ramadan
are expected
to see high
pilgrim visitation,
followed by higher
YoY demand in
August.
MENA HOTEL FORECASTS
