With a predicted hotel bulge fast approaching, hoteliers in the UAE will need to find a way to protect their investments to survive - let alone thrive - in this oversupplied and competitive market.
As up to 29 more hotels open, many linked to bold projects such as the Guggenheim in hot spots such as Abu Dhabi, potential guests are spoilt for choice. What's more, these customers are also savvier, and competitors are more aggressive, which makes attracting and retaining tourism and business dollars even more challenging.
Every new and existing hotel in an oversupplied market is vulnerable and at risk. Hoteliers invest millions of dollars in location, décor and marketing. Although the physical elements help to attract customers, they can only do so much. Today's guests visiting the UAE consider a convenient location, high-quality dining and appearance the minimum standard.
The hotel industry strives for and grows on elusive repeat customers, and while hoteliers consider industry statistics such as revenue per available room and occupancy rate, they often overlook the most significant key component that drives them - people.
Gallup research found the hotel team (front and back of house) is one of the most significant primary drivers in determining the guests' experience - and whether they recommend or return. This satisfaction is quantifiable and drives income along with, more importantly, sustainable repeat business. The key to long-term success in this expanding and evolving market is creating an emotional connection to the brand and property, which helps to guarantee repeat business from every guest who steps through the door.
When customers feel engaged, they spend more on food, beverages and other activities at the hotel. This additional revenue is vital to a new hotel location or an existing location under pressure from its new neighbours. But it is not only the customers who need to feel engaged, the hotel employees must as well.
One of the biggest challenges for the UAE within every industry, particularly in hospitality, is engaging talent. The National recently reported that one in four UAE employees felt completely empowered in their workplace, which effectively means that three quarters of the workforce feel they do not have the freedom to make decisions, nor the time, training, materials, equipment, support and "voice" to do so.
This is a significant risk in roles dealing directly with customers, a primary component of any hotel team. Investing in the engagement of these teams is imperative to ensure every customer interaction is the best possible and that problem resolution is seamless, making it a simple choice to recommend and revisit that hotel.
In addition to increased competition within a small market such as the UAE, new hotel locations dramatically increase the level of available jobs in the market, putting pressure on existing hotel locations where team members may be unhappy with the engagement and empowerment within their roles.
With any new entrant, existing operators may lose valuable staff members, and consistently in the market this leads to a reduced pool of readily available local talent. Research indicates that turnover can cost organisations a loss of 30 per cent to 176 per cent of the annual salary of each vacant position, particularly at locations where employee engagement is poor.
The additional costs associated with managing, recruiting, training, the disruption of services and diminishing team cohesion all contribute to a quantifiable loss. This can be a difficult number to swallow in a challenging and competitive market, and have a disastrous effect on the high level of quality and service customers expect.
UAE hoteliers operate in a unique situation, with a culture, business environment and history that is driven by hospitality. The opportunities for innovation are endless. Hoteliers (both local and international) must operate beyond the traditional hard facts of dollar investment, and begin investing in the human elements of the hotel experience. In a market with increased supply, and potentially reduced demand, the focus must shift to engaging customer and employee interactions, maximising the opportunity from every single "touch point" to provide a significant competitive advantage and prevent key attrition and associated costs from rocketing out of control.
Vipula Gandhi is a senior consultant at Gallup Consulting Middle East & Africa
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
'Midnights'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Taylor%20Swift%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Republic%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
