AHIC 2015: Technology key to hospitality future says Trump
Global leaders at The Arabian Hotel Investment Conference today agreed that technology and innovation is very important in developing hotels for the next generation.
AHIC morning witnessed a strong interview with Ivanka Trump, executive vice president of development and acquisitions of The Trump Organisation, who was in conversation with Susan Harmsworth founder of ESPA on the future of luxury and the next generation of luxury traveller.
Ivanka said that attention to details is key in building luxury hotels, and it can only be up to the level if the developers are highly involved in the design and construction process. Ivanka also expressed that leadership has to be strong in hotel management, and that cultural sensitivity has been growing in the past few years in hospitality shifting from the standardisation that hotels used to adopt few years ago.
She added: “Dubai’s standards are very high, which raised the bar to other countries, we don’t have those standards all over the US in most of the hotels, so here design has to be spectacular to meet people’s expectations.
In an update on the transactional market of hotels globally, JLL explained that $68 billion worth of global deals expected, the third highest on record and a 15 per cent increase on 2014 levels.
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Mark Wynne-Smith, global chief executive, Hotels & Hospitality Group at JLL elaborated: “It’s a very active market at the moment, and we are seeing a huge amount of cross-border transactions – we reckon about 30 per cent of deals taking place this year will be capital moving from one region to another.”
At the Global Leaders Panel Discussion, Gerald Lawless, president, Jumeirah Group said: Jumeirah has had a solid quarter one and is on track to open 430 new rooms by June next year.
He said: “Governments are beginning to realise the need to open up visa regimes.
“We are seeing a move in the right direction and need to keep up this momentum. It’s up to us hoteliers to keep it on the agenda.”