The inaugural edition of Hotel News ME’s Procurement Conference kickstarts this morning at the Grosvenor House in Dubai Marina.
The conference aims to bring together professionals from the hospitality industry across the MENA region to discuss evolving procurement practices, new opportunities and how technologically advancements are working towards fully automated services.
The summit aims to recognise challenges and have an honest dialogue about how we could overcome them.
The day starts off with a keynote note speech by Alison Grinnell, Middle East Hotels Leader for PwC.
She observed that one of the most important trend that needs to be taken into account is the global demographic shift and shift in economic power. “Today, younger generation has a lot more spending power compared to a decade ago. Whereas the older generation, though still travelling, have very different needs.”
Grinnell also talked about the global environment and climate change as one of the most significant challenges faced by the hospitality sector.
She said: “Bottom line is if we are going to open another 100 hotels in Dubai we need to make sure we have the water and infrastructure for it.”
She highlighted a key solution could be considering customer feedback. “There has never been an easier time for customers to give feedback. However, though feedback is coming in but we don’t see it.
“The world is changing, and we must change with it.”
