Tag Archives: Mona Faraj

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Middle East successfully concluded its 6th Annual ROC Commercial Strategy Conference, the last of the Global, Commercial Strategy Conferences after London, Toronto, Singapore, India, and Korea. The event’s theme was around Connect Evolve Lead. Connect: Phil Bedford, MSc, Asentiv Worldwide, shared an inspiring keynote on networking in the hotel industry. Evolve: Steven van Belleghem, a Customer Experience Enthusiast spoke about the story of evolution and the infusion of genuine Customer Culture. Lead: Michael Dominguez, Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) spoke about The Importance of Culture, Understanding the importance of humility and starting with building the right team members. The HSMAI conference was a remarkable gathering of minds, highlighted by global keynote speakers whose insights were both relevant and thought-provoking. The conference also featured engaging roundtable discussions that fostered dynamic exchanges of ideas providing attendees with key take-home messages on the latest trends and strategies in the industry, emphasizing innovation, customer engagement, and future-forward thinking. The ROC Star Awards held during the second day of the conference, acknowledged three top talents nominated by their peers for their exemplary achievements and influence in the hospitality sector. Nine nominations were selected by the advisory boards from a total of 41 submissions. Outside of UAE, 50% of submissions this year were received from KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, and Iraq making this a truly regional awards program acknowledging the efforts, innovation and performance of our on-property executives. The 2023 ROC Star winners are Linda Mwaffak, Commercial Director, Conrad Dubai, Abhay Bishnoi, Director of Revenue Management at Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Laurence Desirée Klett, Director of Marketing Communications & Sustainability, Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara. Each winner received …

Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Middle East (HSMAI) hosted its inaugural Revenue Optimization Conference (ROC) Middle East as a true hybrid event, focused on Staying Connected, Staying Informed and Staying Relevant amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic. Attended by a combination of 300 virtual and in-person guests at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City Hotel, the event was held in accordance with all required safety and social distancing measures in place.  Opened by HSMAI Managing Director, Mona Faraj who handed over to HSMAI President & CEO, Bob Gilbert joining virtually from the US, thanks to the great technology of Maze FX . A line-up of 53 global speakers, including representatives from Dubai Tourism, Accor, Jumeirah, Hilton, Kempinski, IHG, Shangri La, Minor, Barcelo and many more addressing attendees on how to lead the hospitality industry to resume business activities, re-connect again, and exchange best practices. Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, was this year’s opening keynote speaker. Highlighting how the Covid-19 has demonstrated the hospitality industry’s resilience, its ability to pivot and the embedding of new best practices, Kazim also discussed the evolution of the city’s global marketing efforts through recent months, including the launch of the ‘Live Your Story’ campaign. “It has given us great honor that HSMAI ROC 2020 was the platform for the industry to be united together again and I am delighted at the attendance received today, both in person and virtually.  It is an endorsement of the mission that makes up the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International in the Middle East and the collaboration between the hospitality industry and its partners united towards one goal,” said Faraj.

Hospitality Sales & Marketing International Middle East (HSMAI) is preparing for the future with training and events ready to further the skills of its hospitality professionals across the Middle East. HSMAI Middle East has prepared a comprehensive plan to focus on the future, with panel discussions, training workshops, surveys, and interviews on thought provoking topics. “We recognise that ‘life must go on’ and whilst we are holding ROC@Home with a focus on recovery, we also want to emphasise past trends that will return as an important part of our industry,” said Mona Faraj, Managing Director of HSMAI Middle East. ROC@Home, a full day experience taking place on Wednesday, June 17 will include live sessions from the Middle East, Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, and is designed to fuel industry recovery and revitalisation efforts. The exclusive toolkit offers an opportunity to engage with teams, as well as regional live expert sessions designed for hotel professionals to reset, refocus and reenergise. ‘Demystifying Distribution’ will kick off the 4-session series on Monday, June 29 and is suitable for both General Managers and Marketing Managers who should understand distribution in today’s world. A trend that is steadily growing is the Chinese traveller, with annual growth in the double digits across areas of the Middle East pre COVID-19. This trend is anticipated to recover, and what better time to start planning to attract this active market. How to tap into the China Market will start with the foundations and continue with digital platforms, ending with advance digital and marketing essence. This series of three sessions will start from Wednesday, July 22. “We have received a strong response to date from industry colleagues globally for ROC@Home, …

In response to the unique challenges of 2020, Hospitality Sales & Marketing International Middle East (HSMAI) has introduced ROC@Home, a full-day Global Revenue Optimisation experience taking place on June 17, 2020. The day-long session involves live sessions from the Middle East, Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, and is designed to fuel industry recovery and revitalisation efforts. Neither a virtual conference nor a replacement for HSMAI in-person ROC programmes, ROC@Home is an opportunity for hotel revenue professionals to reset, refocus, and re-energise, with an exclusive free toolkit to guide learning and engagement, and more than 20 live expert-led sessions hosted by HSMAI’s regions around the globe. “ROC@Home is the first experience of its kind,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, President and CEO of HSMAI. “By focusing the attention and energy of revenue professionals from around the globe, HSMAI’s regions are building a global network of experts who will have the insights, tools, and resources needed to lead the industry into recovery.” “An event like ROC@Home provides a dedicated opportunity to work with colleagues whilst connecting to industry leaders around the world,” said Mona Faraj, Managing Director, HSMAI Middle East. “In these challenging times, divergent thinking will create opportunities and platforms such as ROC@Home can ignite the innovation and motivation for successful strategies within the region.” At the heart of ROC@Home is a free toolkit available to hoteliers around the world. It includes advice and inspiration from some of the world’s most respected revenue optimisation leaders. Hospitality and tourism professionals can participate either with their teams in-person or virtually, or on their own, and can now sign up to receive the free toolkit and be part of a ROC@Home Industry Survey.

Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International Middle East (HSMAI), announces the inaugural launch of a new chapter in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). HSMAI Middle East is renowned for being the platform that provides practical tools, insights, and cutting-edge expertise to enable knowledge sharing and enhance professional development in the hospitality industry. It is a not for profit association that creates and curates content from thought leaders in hospitality sales, marketing and revenue optimisation, including articles, white papers, case studies, research, best practices, and more from around the globe.  “With a strong focus on education, it was a natural step to launch our next chapter in KSA,” says Mona Faraj, Managing Director of HSMAI Middle East. “We see potential to educate hotel sales, marketing and revenue management disciplines in the country, and we welcome members to take advantage of our resources and support.” The KSA chapter, formed by industry leaders, makes up the volunteer steering committee, led by Moustafa Manoon, Regional Director of Revenue Management – Middle East & Africa, Accor.  The committee members consist of these senior leaders from the KSA hospitality industry:  Ahmad Shaban, Commercial Director – KSA and Bahrain IHG; Mostafa El Anany, Regional Director of Sales – MEA Accor;  Sherif Omar, Director, Global Distribution -Shangri-La Hotels; Mohamed El Naggar, Revenue Performance Director KSA & Bahrain – IHG;  Saeed Al Aseeri, Acting General Manager BurjRafal Riyadh;  Ahmed Rasmy, Regional Director of Revenue KSA – Levant Hilton; and Mohamed Kamel, Corporate Revenue Manager – DUR Hospitality. Moustafa Manoon, Regional Director of Revenue Management – Middle East & Africa, Accor, says, “I strongly believe that HSMAI will bring great value to the hospitality industry of the country through its accumulated …

For the first time, over 180 sales and marketing professionals in the hospitality industry came together at the Madinat Jumeirah for the region’s inaugural ‘Revenue Optimization Conference (ROC)’ hosted by Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association (HSMAI). This was ROC’s fifth global event of the year, with other ROC locations including The United States, The Netherlands, Singapore, and Brazil. The conference brought together revenue management, distribution, sales and marketing executives in the hotel industry with a programme comprising education, collaboration and innovation. Robert A Gilbert, CHME, CHA, President and CEO, HSMAI, said, “The Middle East is one of the most rapidly expanding markets for hospitality and we’re pleased to bring timely insights into revenue optimisation to the region’s hotel professionals.” The conference featured an opening keynote presentation on global consumer trends by Lorraine Sileo, SVP, Research and Business Operations, PhocusWright. Other programmes throughout the day included panels on pricing strategy, digital marketing, key revenue management topics, and did not miss on covering MiCE and the value proposition of hotel restaurants and bars. HSMAI ROC Middle East also featured an impressive partner showcase; Gold Partners included Almosafer, Cendyn and Duetto; Silver Partner included Illusions, iWTX, Jumeirah and Tajawal; among other 19 Bronze and support partners. Mona Faraj, Managing Director, HSMAI Middle East Chapter, said, “HSMAI is delighted that ROC has been so well received by both our regional and international attendees, and we are excited to showcase an even more compelling line up of speakers and discussions next year. HSMAI is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners, and we are the industry’s leading advocates for intelligent and sustainable hotel revenue growth. We look forward to further engaging with the …