Sentiment Upbeat at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference

LIFT attended the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) in Dubai last week.  AHIC is a great event, bringing together investors from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and attracting hospitality brands from around the globe.  Admittedly, we did not know what to expect from this year’s conference. The backdrop of course is the wave of political and social unrest which has swept across much of the region. While Gulf states with the notable exception of Bahrain have remained stable, markets like Dubai and Abu Dhabi are contending with significant increases in hotel and residential supply. STR Global sees another 25,000 hotel units coming on-line in Dubai, and more than 14,000 in the pipeline in Abu Dhabi.

Nevertheless, sentiment at the conference was decidedly upbeat. Clearly, markets like Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi are benefitting from a perceived safe haven status, as consumers and investors place a premium on stability. Occupancy in Dubai was in excess of 80% in Q1 and a 7% increase in REVPAR was recorded over the same period (STR Global).  The good news extended beyond the performance of operational hotel assets. There were reports of Dubai projects receiving new rounds of financing in international markets for the first time sense the credit crisis set in, although it is worth noting that domestic lending remains very restricted.

Most encouragingly from a LIFT perspective was the clear evidence we saw that asset owners and investors are driving innovation in response to the continued softness of residential markets. We talked to owners who are converting portions of residential inventory into serviced apartment products and looking to build rental distribution in order to drive income until residential markets recover. A number of owners are also considering conversion of hotel or residential inventory into shared ownership products (vacation ownership / timeshare, fractional or private residence clubs). It is an exciting time for LIFT, as we specialize in developing and executing the solutions today’s market is looking for.

Next on the LIFT blog we will explore opportunities for luxury brand extensions in some of Asia’s most exciting residential markets.

LIFT Launches

Our first post will be out of step with what you can expect from the LIFT Blog, as this one is all about us. Today we are pleased to announce the launch of LIFT, a company dedicated to supporting the business building aspirations of its partners. LIFT develops strategy, products, new markets and implementation solutions for leading hospitality and real estate companies.

In many respects LIFT has been in the works for years. It is inspired by the experience we have acquired across the Americas, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. LIFT will apply the lessons we have taken from residential projects around the globe, our strong background in hospitality, refined understanding of brand and passion for building business – to drive the growth of the partners we serve. 

A consistent theme we have observed is that dynamic leaders and great organizations are rarely satisfied with the status quo. Most are pursuing visions of what their business could look like in the future – new markets to be served, products to launch and categories to be entered. But implementing high impact growth initiatives is never easy, and too often innovative ideas remain undeveloped. LIFT exists to help its partners overcome hurdles and build the business they aspire to lead.

Going forward, our postings will be much less focused on LIFT. We will be taking a look at luxury brand extensions and some exciting residential opportunities we see in Asian urban markets. And we will be in Dubai in late April for the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference and promise to share our observations here.