The sixth Gulf and Indian Ocean Hotel Investors’ Summit (www.giohis.com) will take place on 27-28th February 2023 at the Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Organised by HOFTEL, GIOHIS is run by owners for owners, as well as for companies which provide services to owners, including hotel management companies and brands, consultants, brokers, architects, law firms, project managers and more. To date the event has 90 speakers lined up, almost half from the hospitality real estate sector, and over 50 investor, developer and owner-operator companies will attend.
GIOHIS will be a truly international event, with attendees registered from Australia, Bahrain, Cyprus, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, UK and USA.
Minor Hotels are Platinum sponsors of the summit, which takes place at their city hotel in Abu Dhabi, and will host the cocktail reception and dinner on the first evening. Dillip Rajakarier, CEO Minor Hotels and Group CEO Minor International, Minor Hotels parent company, is one of a number of industry CEOs who will be speaking during the two-day event. Patron sponsors Aldar Hotels and Hospitality will be represented by Jahed Rahman, CIO, and Klaus Assmann, CEO. Other CEOs in attendance will include those from Fattal & Leonardo Hotels, Abu Dhabi National Hotels, RAK Hospitality Holding, GHM and CityBlue Hotels.
Luxury hotels have boomed across the region over the past 12 months and the Minor Hotels CEO will be discussing a key question on the lips of many investors: Has luxury peaked or will it just keep getting stronger? Amir Golbarg, SVP Operations, Minor Hotels Middle East & Africa, will also be in attendance leading a round table discussion on hospitality in Qatar, one of a number of country focused sessions.
Minor Hotels has great confidence in the growth and development of the hospitality industry within the Middle East and wider Indian Ocean region and is proud to be a key sponsor at GIOHIS this year. The group has a strong pipeline of upcoming properties in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with openings to be flagged across the Anantara, Avani, Tivoli and NH Collection brands and more to be announced soon.
Dillip Rajakarier, CEO Minor Hotels, commented, “We are very happy to be a Platinum sponsor at GIOHIS 2023 and hosting the event at Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel in Abu Dhabi. HOFTEL has confirmed a stellar line up of senior leaders from within hospitality companies, in addition to owners, developers and other partners. We look forward to being at the heart of the discussions and debates on the challenges and opportunities currently facing our industry.”
Simon Allison, Chairman and CEO HOFTEL, also noted, “2022 was a very strong year for the Gulf and Indian Ocean region. 2023 looks promising but is also a year of some uncertainty. Hoteliers are facing high inflation, a scarcity of debt and higher interest rates along with labour cost and supply cost pressures and a realisation that ESG capex is also coming down the track. As pressures mount, can owners survive without the big brands; if not, what are the best arrangements for working with them? We’ll be covering all that at GIOHIS and more”.
GIOHIS takes place at Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel on 27-28th February, 2023. To register, visit www.giohis.com or for any questions about the event, please contact Simon Allison at simon.allison@hoftel.com.
