Mint Stalk’s insights on the future of Hospitality in the UAE

Forecasting anything during a pandemic is somewhat tricky. For some industries, reality often contradicts the predictions initially made, boggling the minds of experts and creating more uncertainties for everyone else around. One sector in particular that has caught our attention recently is the hospitality industry in Dubai - while most of Europe and other parts of the world are still under lockdown restrictions, Dubai’s hotel scene is currently flourishing. Recent studies done by PWC showed that the United Arab Emirates has been named the most popular tourist destination for 2021. Indeed, HospitalityNet predicted that Dubai’s hotel industry would start recovering from September 2020, driven mainly by local demand followed by commercial demand from neighboring GCC countries. 

Here at Mint Stalk, a leading digital and creative marketing agency operating in the UAE, we saw firsthand the impact of the pandemic on our client portfolio. Times were difficult for the hotel brands but thankfully, short-lived too. New trends are starting to emerge as hotels are becoming more and more creative with the way they handle their current activities in order to stay open. It’s no longer simply about the location but the flexibility in terms of bookings & cancelation, allowing guests to be able to cancel closer to the date at no additional cost in case something happens, because yes, pandemic times often mean that flights will be delayed or canceled altogether. Hotels will have to push their unique sellings points and overall experience and an example of such trends that we have seen with our partners is the recent smart touchless technology with keyless entry and contactless check-in/check-out, allowing guests and hotel staff to avoid unnecessary contact and remain safe. Simple but genius. 

What we have witnessed with some of the hotels we work with is that people appear to be shifting their focus towards a more local and cultural experience as opposed to the usual ‘commercial’ mainstream choice. It’s almost like people are rediscovering their own country by supporting local businesses and playing tourist for the first time again. Our local partners showed an impressively high occupancy rate of above 90% throughout the pandemic, which was not necessarily the case for other multinational brands we work with. Travelers are increasingly picking hotels based on concepts such as:

- Culture

Do they offer any cultural activities like art galleries or interactive educational spaces for people to learn something new and valuable during their stay that they can talk about to their friends and family? People are looking for a more local and authentic experience by supporting small businesses, whether it is in terms of clothes shopping, food, entertainment etc.

- Sustainability

Are they eco-conscious and actively trying to reduce their carbon footprint? This is a trend that is growing significantly especially amongst younger generations. People are expecting more from hotels around the world in terms of their sustainability promise (do they wash the sheets everyday, do they encourage guests to be conscious of their electricity usage etc.)

- Work-friendly environment

Is the space adapted for working (fast-wifi, comfortable desk and chair, private and quiet environment to work, USB and charging ports etc.)?

- Open-space activities

Since the pandemic has made people more aware of how quickly and easily germs spread, cramming people in a tight conference room will probably not be welcomed with open arms. Events such as outdoor yoga retreats, outdoor cooking or outdoor meetings and other gatherings will most probably become the next best thing.

- A new kind of hospitality

Travelers are increasingly looking for month to month apartment-like units that feel like a temporary home as opposed to a small hotel room with the basics, where they can potentially cook their own meals and receive people over, have a parking for their car and a laundry room etc.

- Extreme cleanliness

(but that’s pretty obvious). 

It’s a fascinating transition and it will be interesting to see the extent to which hotels are ready to go to accommodate. Most experts seem to think that the worst is behind us, and that the Dubai Expo 2021 is expected to bring even more investors to the country, which is a hopeful prediction for the region. However, the hotel industry in Dubai is expected to only fully recover by 2024. In the meantime, remote working along with new Governmental policies on foreigners working in Dubai has pushed globetrotters to approach travelling differently, often choosing to stay in a place for longer on a “workation” as opposed to a quick staycation, which consequently will also influence hotels to readjust themselves according to these new tendencies. Regaining the trust of travellers in such tumultuous times is no easy task. As a leading digital marketing agency, Mint Stalk also specialise in public relation and have helped our partners convey their message smoothly throughout the pandemic, always keeping in touch with the audience and letting them know what the next step will be. As long as hotels stick to their promise of committing to transparency, fostering loyalty by providing rewarding personalised experiences and creating a strong culture of safety, the post-pandemic hotel scene should be able to slowly regain momentum. 

According to PWC, the GCC region’s authorities and private sector have been very proactive in and agile in responding to the crisis in terms of financial aids to businesses and vaccine campaigns, encouraging visitors from all over the place to book a flight to the UAE, therefore benefitting the fastest from the expected upswing. An interesting point to make is also the fact that people who used to travel often and who found themselves “stuck” in their home country, are actually playing tourist by rediscovering their hometown. For us at Mint Stalk, noticing these shifts has been an interesting learning curve as we now had to appeal to the local consumers as opposed to international ones. As a leading digital marketing agency based in Dubai, it has been a truly valuable experience to witness this shift in consumer behaviour and adjust accordingly in such a limited amount of time. Thankfully, hotels so far have been cooperative and showing willingness to make the first steps to accommodate this new way of life. Some are far ahead, those are still lagging behind but getting there slowly.