Middle East Opinion Articles

October 24, 2014

DUBAI: does the mirage have legs… or feet of clay?

It seems not a single person who has visited Dubai has returned without a litany of superlatives singing its praise. Apparently, it is the Paris of Les Années Folles, the Manhattan of 1935, the California of the sixties. Everything there is bigger, better, shinier. The number of guest rooms is increasing substantially every year as construction never seems to slow down. In the so-called "Five-Star" category, thousands of rooms are added annually to the existing inventory of 30,000 (one third of a total inventory of 85,000 rooms).

By Benoit Gateau-Cumin, Chief Recruiting Officer, The Boutique Search Firm

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Opinion Article Sales & Marketing

October 14, 2014

Middle East Theme Park Hotels: The Untapped Opportunity for Region’s Hospitality Market

As the region's major cities compete to become leading global travel destinations, theme parks and resorts are playing an increasingly important role in attracting family visitors. The DNA of Theme Park Hotels report, issued today by Colliers International, identifies the opportunities for the theme park hospitality segment in the region and highlights key success factors from the global industry.

By Filippo Sona, Director | Head of Hotels Colliers International MENA Region, Colliers

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Opinion Article Development

October 7, 2014

Resort Opening In A Remote Location - (A Challenging Effort)

Opening of a resort requires special skills, knowledge, experience, wisdom, patience and perseverance. While appointing any senior position for a proposed resort, it is normal to ask a person with pre-opening experience as it is considered to be a unique experience. It is easier to operate an existing resort while opening a new resort requires lot of efforts in terms of planning, organizing, creating a team, establishing and implementation of systems, policies and procedures and making the resort up and running successfully. It involves coordination and team effort.

By NP Chandrashekhar, Financial Controller, Alila Jabal Akhdar, Alila

Oman

Opinion Article Sales & Marketing

September 4, 2014

Jewel Of Mountains – Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman

Al Jabal Al Akhdar (The Green Mountain) is one of the unknown Hill stations of the world. Jabal Akhdar is situated about 150 Kms from Muscat City, capital of Sultanate of Oman and is part of the Al Hajar Mountain Ranges. It is located at 2,300 meters above the sea level having an excellent climate throughout the year. From March until September when middle-east experiences blazing summer, Jabal Akhdar is cool and pleasant making it a heavenly escape from the heat.

By NP Chandrashekhar, Financial Controller, Alila Jabal Akhdar, Alila

Al Jabal Al Akhdar, Oman

Opinion Article Markets & Performance

May 13, 2013

2013 Middle East Hotel Survey Maximum Supportable Investments

The 2013 edition of the Middle East Hotel Survey presents the conventional, key performance indicators (KPIs) as achieved in the various cities and destinations throughout the region, and provides an overview of the development pipeline for hospitality assets. This year's report features the aggregate of KPIs based on 436 hotels, representing roughly 115,000 rooms in 45 cities, which represents an estimated increase of 10.6% in terms of rooms. Moreover, the 2013 edition of the hotel survey provides an indication of the maximum supportable investment that an owner or an organisation ought to budget when developing a hospitality product. A number of key assumptions were involved in the preparation of the maximum supportable investment, the details of which are articulated throughout this report.

By Hala Matar Choufany, President - HVS Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Dubai, HVS

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Opinion Article Markets & Performance

May 6, 2013

Dubai Under the Microscope

After the slump witnessed in 2009 and 2010, the Dubai hotel market has resumed growth in terms of occupancy and average rate under all submarkets. This can be primarily attributed to the resumption of travel from main feeder markets such as European countries, combined with the redirection of demand from neighbouring countries due to unstable political conditions. Furthermore, Emirates Airlines bolstered growth, increased frequency of flights to feeder markets and introduced new routes, which has led to the influx of additional feeder markets and has encouraged visitation to Dubai.

By Hala Matar Choufany, President - HVS Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Dubai, HVS

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Opinion Article

February 28, 2013

Cairo Sharm El Sheikh Before and After

Egypt has endured dramatic political turmoil and instability over the course of the last two years. Beginning in January 2011, the Egyptian Revolution began as a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which despite its non-violent nature, resulted in 846 dead and 6,000 injured. On the 11th February, 2011, after persistent protest and pressure, history marked the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and resulted in administrative and legislative control of the country being surrendered to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. As a result of the turbulent episode between 2011 and 2012, the hospitality sector endured the backlash and the repercussions of the infamously entitled Arab Spring, with the hotel sector being among the hardest hit both locally and regionally. Throughout this publication, HVS reviews the macroeconomics, the recent performance of the hotel industry in the popular tourist destinations of Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh, and provides an indication of the short-term and the mid-term outlook for the industry.

By Hala Matar Choufany, President - HVS Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Dubai, HVS

Egypt

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Opinion Article

March 21, 2011

Qatar - The Race for 2022

A brief overview of the hotel market in Doha, Qatar. We address key factors that impact the demand for transient accommodation, expected changes in supply, and specific challenges related to Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Qatar remains a predominantly corporate destin with leisure guests accounting for only demand. The remaining 90% consists of a mix of corporate and government demand that is difficult to tell apart, given the strong overlap between the public and private sectors in Qatar.

HVS

Qatar

Opinion Article Sales & Marketing

February 21, 2011

The Hotel Investment Climate In Syria: Silk Route Ready For Remix

In this article we take a brief look at the investment potential of the Syrian tourism market with special emphasis on Damascus as hoteliers and investors gear up to enter Damascus and other Syrian cities in search of new opportunities. For decades, ‘Promise’ and ‘Potential’ have been bywords for the tourism investment market in Syria; however, the political circumstances and strong government regulations kept investors at bay. Finally, a strong urge from the government to diversify the economy (moving away from its reliance on the depleting oil reserves), provide employment to the growing population, and build public infrastructure resulted in reforms in the key economic sectors.

By Hala Matar Choufany, President - HVS Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Dubai, HVS

Syria

Opinion Article

May 11, 2010

Dubai: Can they keep up the pace?

Over the past decade, Dubai’s growth as a tourism and business destination has been nothing short of phenomenal. But now that the recession has hit, what is the outlook for the next year or two? PHILIPPE DOIZELET, Managing Partner of HORWATH HTL’s offices in Paris, Rabat and Tunis, and SHASHI ASHOK, Consultant at HORWATH MAK in Dubai, share their view of the near-term future.

HYB

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Opinion Article

March 26, 2010

Beirut and Beyond An Unparalleled Insight

This article looks at Lebanon’s hotel and tourism market, and investigates the investment, real estate and lending sectors of the hotel industry as investors, owners, developers, lenders and operators scramble for opportunities in Beirut and beyond.

By Hala Matar Choufany, President - HVS Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Dubai, HVS

Beirut, Lebanon

Opinion Article

May 15, 2009

Kuwait Market Snapshot

In this article, we present an overview of the Kuwait hotel market. We address changes in macroeconomic factors, tourism visitation and hotel performance. From historical trends and our understanding of current developments and government initiatives, we present our opinions on the Kuwait market’s outlook and opportunities. The State of Kuwait (whose name is an Arabic diminutive for ‘fortress built near water’) is a sovereign Arab emirate covering an area of 17,818 km² on the coast of the Persian Gulf. Neighbouring countries include Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. In 2007, Kuwait had approximately 3,400,000 inhabitants. Most of the country’s population is concentrated around the capital, Kuwait City, and in 2008 roughly 60% of the population were expatriates. The population is expected to exceed 4 million by 2010 and to double to roughly 7 million by 2030.

By Hala Matar Choufany, President - HVS Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Dubai, HVS

Kuwait

Opinion Article Human Resources

April 24, 2009

The Future for Recruitment and Pay in Dubai

Where once hoteliers had their pick of jobs in Dubai now it is the employers who once again have the bargaining power as the economic crisis makes itself felt. Where will we find all the people we are going to need to run all our hotels opening in the next two years? Where will we house them? How can we stop our staff from jumping to the latest hotel for a few Dirhams more per week? How do we keep expatriate compensation packages from spiralling out of control? Why is it so tough and expensive to find and hire good talent?

By Chris Mumford, Managing Director, AETHOS Consulting Group

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Human Resources Yesterday

Emerging Travel Group Strengthens Supply Team in the Middle East

ETG appoints Samyra Krooswijk as Head of Business Development, Direct Supply Middle East, to grow its directly contracted hotel portfolio across the region and Turkey.

Emerging Travel Inc.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Technology Yesterday

Cloudbeds and Vacatia Spotlight Open API-Powered Platform Extensibility at HITEC

Vacatia used Cloudbeds Open API to connect proprietary timeshare tech with a unified hotel platform across 60 resorts and 11,000+ units, reducing tech fragmentation and laying groundwork for AI adoption.

Cloudbeds

United States

Technology Yesterday

Maestro PMS Reports Strong Engagement and Valuable Industry Insights from HITEC 2026

Maestro PMS shares key takeaways from HITEC 2026, citing operator demand for integrated platforms, tech stack simplification, AI clarity, and modern UI as top hospitality technology priorities.

Maestro

Technology Yesterday

The Originals Human Hotels & Resorts selects Mews as preferred PMS for its 320+ strong network

Mews becomes a preferred PMS for The Originals Hotels' 320+ member network in France, offering preferential pricing, French-language support, and access to 1,000+ integrations.

Mews and The Originals, Human Hotels & Resorts

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