Tag Archives: hospitality

Hospitality technology solutions providers WorldVue® and Infrateq have announced they have signed an agreement that will mark the entry of WorldVue’s full tech stack into the EMEA region powered by Infrateq. Nearly 50 years in business, WorldVue (formerly known as World Cinema) has been a trusted provider of video, digital infrastructure, wireless connectivity and professional services to hotels, residential properties and enterprises across the world. A family-owned business headquartered in the United States, WorldVue has offices in the Americas, UK, Netherlands, Mexico City, Dubai, Singapore and Australia. Michael Vargosko, Managing Director International Operations at WorldVue commented: “This agreement couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. As we close in on managing a million rooms installed globally, the business has been focused on strategic international growth with EMEA as a top priority, which was cemented by the appointment of Julian Daniel as Vice President of Operations EMEA earlier this year.  Through our alliance with Infrateq our full offering, including IPTV, ISP and wired and wireless network solutions, will be available in EMEA and we will work closely with the team to ensure smooth and seamless operations with the goal to fully integrate the business.” Specialized in IT infrastructure project design, deployment and management for the hospitality industry, Infrateq designed solutions are approved by leading vendors and international hotel chains, using decades of industry experience of their team plus a network of over 50 verified local partners. Infrateq has extensive coverage in the EMEA region through its hubs in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Europe and the UK. “This is a very exciting milestone for the company,” said Gary Carscadden, CEO & Founder of Infrateq. “WorldVue will bring its North …

The Hospitality Network announced the dates for the 2023 MEA Stakeholder Conference, scheduled from 7th to 9th November at Lapita, Dubai Parks and Resorts in Dubai, UAE.  The 2023 MEA Stakeholder Conference is set to attract over 500 decision-makers, including hotel owners, giga developers, operators, and key consultants, collectively operating and developing hundreds of hotels across the region.  By discussing the latest trends and challenges facing the industry, the conference fosters investment into innovation and sustainability as key drivers for the rapid growth of the industry. It also serves as a nexus for various domains such as Information Technology, Engineering and Technical Services, Design and Procurement, helping to enhance inter-departmental communication and facilitating knowledge exchange. This exclusive, invitation-only event will convene senior leaders from across the Middle East & Africa’s hotel industry, fostering collaboration and promoting innovations and sustainability within the sector.

Amadeus’ Demand360® subscribers using the BEONx Revenue Management System (RMS) can now gain access to the in-depth, forward-looking market insights provided by Amadeus’ business intelligence solution in their RMS. Fluctuating demand and economic conditions brought on by the pandemic have highlighted the importance of revenue management systems and business intelligence within the hospitality industry. Having access to both historical and forward-looking data has become critical in enabling hoteliers to develop smarter, more informed business strategies. Going beyond the existing integration with iHotelier®, Amadeus, a global provider of hospitality technology solutions, and BEONx, a leading hospitality revenue management service provider, announce an extension of their partnership to bring comprehensive business intelligence to BEONx customers that subscribe to Demand360®. The integration will allow hoteliers using BEONx to gain access to Amadeus’ Demand360® business intelligence insights within their RMS. This will significantly improve a hotelier’s ability to understand market demand, historical and forward-looking business performance, and track results against their competitive set to best optimize revenue. BEONx hotels will also able to join Amadeus’ Demand360 network, strengthening the data available in that solution. “Expanding our partnership with Amadeus will better serve the interests of common clients,” said Rubén Sánchez, CEO and Founder at BEONx. “The two-way data exchange will enhance the revenue insights and competitiveness of hotels connected to BEONx and Amadeus by giving them improved visibility into market trends. It will also improve the BEONx algorithms that provide forecasting and inventory control systems capabilities to their participating hotels.” “With fiercer competition and leaner teams, revenue managers are often managing multiple properties now, rather than a single hotel,” said Michael Yeomans, Senior Vice President, Business Intelligence & Data Solutions, Hospitality, Amadeus. “This kind …

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) celebrated the graduation of 56 Emirati students from its 2023 Tourism Youth Summer Camp, a two-week introduction to Abu Dhabi’s tourism and hospitality industry where participants nurtured essential teamwork and leadership skills, gained hands-on experience and received insights from professionals within the field. The graduation ceremony, held at Saadiyat Rotana Resort and Villas was attended by the students and their parents, as well as key industry partners and government officials including H.E. Mouza Obaid Al Nasseri, Executive Director of Small & Medium Enterprises, Department Of Economic Development; Shaikha Al Nuwais, Vice President Owner Relationship Management at Rotana Groups; Hamad Mohammed Alsudain, Licensing & Regulatory Compliance Director at DCT Abu Dhabi; Mouza Theib Al Mansoori, Recruitment Department Manager at Human Resources Authority; and Najla Al Nahdi, Chief Human Resources Officer at Abu Dhabi National Hotels. In line with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, DCT Abu Dhabi’s annual Tourism Youth Summer Camp allows young UAE nationals interested in exploring a career in the emirate’s tourism and hospitality industries to learn about Abu Dhabi as a tourism and cultural destination. The programme includes a work placement at one of the emirate’s top hotels, where participants discover the different components of the tourism business and how they contribute to the growth and development of the emirate’s economy. At the end of the programme, each student is equipped with knowledge and experience in various aspects of the tourism and culture sectors and an understanding of their important role in achieving Abu Dhabi’s strategic ambitions, having gained valuable professional skills and greater confidence to pursue a career in the industry.

Sabre Corporation announced the integration between Nuvola, its task management and guest engagement software, and the renowned messaging platform WhatsApp. Hotels using Nuvola’s Guest Chat module now have the option to choose between SMS messaging or WhatsApp to power their real-time communications with guests. With over two billion users across 180 countries, the integration with WhatsApp provides hoteliers with a powerful tool to offer a differentiated and seamless guest experience. Additionally, Nuvola recently launched a two-way integration with Sabre’s property management system, SynXis Property Hub. This new integration allows hotel staff to have a more holistic view of the traveler and run operations on-property smoothly. “Properties using Nuvola’s Housekeeping module and Property Hub can send real-time updates to ensure the front desk has accurate room status information, such as if the room is cleaned, and can seamlessly check in guests upon their arrival,” said Juan Abello, Vice President of Product Management at Sabre Hospitality and founder of Nuvola. “Furthermore, if the hotel incorporates Nuvola Guest Chat or the Angel guest app, the information exchanged between the property management system (PMS) and Nuvola has the potential to improve the guest experience and increase the hotel’s guest satisfaction score.” Abello added. SynXis Property Hub is the latest PMS addition to Nuvola’s list of PMS integrations. Nuvola already offers integrations with prevalent PMS providers such as Oracle Opera, SMS Host and Maestro, making it an attractive option for the global hospitality industry. Furthermore, Nuvola currently supports user’s interface in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese languages, enabling each staff member to pick the language they feel most confident using. Additionally, Nuvola is set to release French, German, and Japanese languages next …

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International Middle East (HSMAI ME) is bringing back its high-impact ROC ME Commercial Strategy Conference for its sixth annual congregation. Held on November 28 and 29, 2023, at the Conrad Dubai Hotel, this exclusive event brings together the brightest minds in the Middle East hospitality industry to provide an unrivalled platform for knowledge sharing and network building. Under the banner of Connect, Evolve and Lead, this year’s must-visit event will harness the knowledge and expertise of the region’s hospitality leaders while also shining a spotlight on the industry’s future frontrunners, inviting you to meet and mingle with the hoteliers of today and tomorrow in a dynamic and enlightening format. Attendees at this year’s conference will have the chance to hear from the top industry thought-leaders, game-changers, motivational speakers, innovators and disruptors, who will take to the stage to host informative and inspirational talks. Dedicated sessions will focus on collaboration and innovation, including how to ensure Marketing, Sales & Revenue Management relationships work hand-in-hand. Attendees will also discover the latest tools and metrics to help implement their strategies, and have the chance to measure their current strategies to ensure they align with global benchmarks and ever-evolving market trends. Over the course of the two days, participants will have the opportunity broaden their network by engaging with exceptional leaders and hoteliers, HSMAI ROC Middle East’s Advisory Board members, General Managers, Marketers, Operations, Sales, and Revenue Management teams. As the only Commercial Strategy Conference for the industry in the Middle East, the ROC ME Commercial Strategy Conference leads the way for education, insights, connections, and inspiration – with curated events created by hoteliers for hoteliers. HSMAI Middle …

Elaf Group participated in the ‘Future Hospitality Investment Summit – Saudi Arabia 2023’, which was held from May 7 to 9, 2023, in the capital city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. This year’s summit assembled a huge number of leaders and officials from countries across the globe as well as renowned investors, business owners, developers and operators in the hospitality and hotel services sector, making it the largest edition in the history of this significant event for the region’s hospitality sector. As the event draws industry leaders from around the world, Elaf Group highlighted its most notable hotel services and products as well as the most recent additions to its hotel facilities in Saudi Arabia. The event served as a platform to address challenges and opportunities, promote sustainability and innovation, and enable entrepreneurship in the hospitality sector and shape the future of hospitality in the KSA and the region. During the event, Majed Kaki, Vice President of Elaf Travel and Tourism at Elaf Group participated in the panel discussion titled ‘The Saudi Private Sector and the Saudi Vision 2030’, centred on the private sector’s contribution to the development and growth of tourism sector and execution of developmental projects. In addition, he emphasised the opportunities and possibilities for the expansion of tourism, hospitality and hotel services sectors and reinforced their role as significant private economic contributors in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. He further highlighted Elaf Group’s plans to develop its hotel services and products, modify and expand its hospitality facilities in line with the ambitious national plans for tourism, and ensure readiness to welcome more visitors, tourists, pilgrims and Umrah performers. Kaki said: “Elaf Group …

Knight Frank Middle East announced a collaboration with Pan Kingdom Holding Saudi Arabia to focus on Asset Management Project for a newly constructed 2,000 room hotel in Makkah. Turab Saleem, Partner & Head of Hospitality at Knight Frank MENA, expressed excitement for the collaboration, stating that with 20 years of Asset Management experience in the region, Knight Frank Middle East is eager to contribute to the success of the project. The collaboration will see Knight Frank not only overseeing the hotel project but also providing expertise in brand development and business planning for Pan Kingdom’s growing hospitality portfolio. The partnership aims to cultivate new hotel assets in the Kingdom in alignment with the 2030 vision.

Marriott International announced that its unique hospitality training program, Tahseen, celebrated its first graduating class in Egypt. Developed in partnership with Helwan University and Professional Development Foundation, the company created the unique programme for Egypt in 2018 to support its commitment to further enhance tourism education in the country. The inaugural graduating class featured 80 students who completed the first of its kind Bachelors of Hotel Operations Management Degree. The celebration took place at The St. Regis Cairo with all 80 students accompanied by their families. The milestone event was hosted by Satya Anand, President, Europe Middle East & Africa, Marriott International and was attended by Professor Dr. Hosam Refai, Acting President, Helwan University and Mohammed Farouk Hafeez, Chairman, Professional Development Foundation, along with other senior officials from the organizations. Satya Anand, President, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International said, “We are excited to celebrate the first group of graduates as part of our Tahseen programme in Egypt.  Tahseen is focused on providing young people with the skills and experience to grow and thrive in the hospitality business and to be part of the success of Egypt’s travel and tourism sector. As a company, we remain committed to enhancing tourism education in Egypt and developing the next wave of exciting and impactful local hospitality leaders in the country.” Tahseen was launched in 2018 in partnership with Helwan University and Professional Development Foundation to focus on fast-tracking the next generation of hospitality leaders by providing them with firsthand experience of the industry and a springboard to launch successful careers in hospitality. In 2019, the programme received the Ministry of Higher Education’s approval in Egypt and earned bachelor’s degree accreditation. Today, …

Nadia Ibrahim, Associate Director of Consultancy & Sustainability at leading UAE-based smart and green facilities management (FM) company Farnek, has revealed how all hotels throughout the region can create a bespoke roadmap to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050. During her webinar presentation in conjunction with the Swiss Business Council, which was attended by key hospitality figures from across the region, Ibrahim highlighted the fact that some international hospitality brands may already have strategies in place to achieve their Net Zero ambitions. However, many independent hotels, particularly three and four-star properties would require external support from consultants to design, plan and execute a carbon neutral roadmap. “Major international hotel brands such as Accor, Hilton and Marriott have the necessary resources to achieve their sustainability goals, but many privately-owned independent hotels will not have the means to access dedicated internal support. “There is also general confusion about what Net Zero means and the process and actions required to make a corporate commitment and how a hotel’s carbon footprint can be measured and reduced without affecting the operation or guest experience,” said Ibrahim. It is widely reported that tourism and specifically hotels account for 8% and 1% respectively of total global carbon emissions. But implementing a carbon reduction plan is not an easy task, with multiple internal and external challenges. The most common of which are carbon footprint assessments across the hotel and its value chain, a lack of financial resources with little or no budget allocated for climate related activities, the higher costs associated with sustainable products and insufficient regulatory incentives to support a hotel’s Net Zero transition. Ibrahim, who was elected to the board of the official Local Network of …