AHIC 2014 explores Middle East hotel investment landscape
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The Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) 2014 will this year celebrate its 10th anniversary. The event is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum chairman Dubai Airports, president Dubai Department for Civil Aviation Chairman and CEO of Emirates. The programme for the two-day event was recently announced, scheduled to take place from 4-5 May at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.
The theme is aptly titled – ‘A decade of defining hotel investment landscape’. The Conference this year focuses on evolution of Dubai in the last ten years. As per statistics, hotels across Dubai recorded an occupancy rate of 80% in 2013, even with an influx of almost 3,000 new rooms in the hospitality market.
According to a report by Ernst and Young (EY), the hospitality sector in Dubai showed strongest performance in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region. High occupancy rates were maintained despite addition of thousands of new rooms to the supply chain in 2013. Average daily rates (ADR) also witnessed an increase of 6.4% between 2012 and 2013, resulting in an overall RevPAR (revenue per available room) of $223 in 2013, marking an increase of 5.9% compared to 2012. Figures show a similar state of affairs in Abu Dhabi, where hotels posted a 12.8% increase to 73.4% in 2013.
Some of the panel discussions at the event will focus on ‘The Evolution of dubai over the last ten years, what is the next step?; Succeeding in the extended stay & serviced apartment segment’ which discusses dynamics behind driving demand for this segment and state of the current stock in the region. It also identifies variations in performance vs short stay the financial and regulatory implications.
Filippo Sona, director and head of Hotels for the MENA Region at Colliers International said: “The UAE market has potential for growth using the serviced apartment business model. The key strength of this model is being able to change target market profile between long and short stay to suit market conditions. This enables companies to achieve revenue maximisation. Brand strength is also a strong driver of serviced apartment demand with GDS, direct bookings, and website bookings accounting for 40% of total bookings.”
The Conference will witness strong participation from Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Jumeirah Group, ACCOR, Al Habtoor Hotels Group, Hilton Worldwide, Moroccan Agency for Tourism Development – SMIT and Accor, Wyndham Hotel Group among others.
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