Dubai, UAE: The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Middle East has unveiled its stellar line up of speakers and action-packed programme for the 7th Annual Commercial Strategy Conference ME. Taking place on 26 and 27 November 2024 at the Conrad Dubai, the conference will bring together the region’s hospitality sales, marketing and revenue management community for unmatched industry insights, networking, and awards. 

The programme has been shaped in collaboration with the HSMAI MEA advisory board, task groups and partners, and comprises a wide range of formats including plenary sessions, the leadership hub, interactive forum, roundtables, masterclasses, trends & insights sessions, as well as networking lunches and receptions. 

The morning plenary sessions will bring the audience together for some of the industry’s most pressing issues and hottest topics. Joining the conference for the second time, John Sanei, Global Futurist, 5x bestselling author, and award-winning Podcast Co-Host, will be speaking on the topic ‘HUMANtra 2.0 Orchestrating Value Creation in the Age of AI’, and Jeff Strachan, AVP Dubai Economy & Tourism, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) will do a deep dive into ‘What Does Successful Commercial Collaboration REALLY Look Like?’. In the afternoons, attendees can choose from three concurrent tracks covering a broad range of topics such as revenue management, guest loyalty, F&B, hotel profitability, changing market trends and much more.

This year’s event also has a timely focus on talent attraction, retention and loyalty. Highlights of which include the following sessions:

‘Decoding New Talent Dynamics: A Deep Dive into the HSMAI Foundation’s State of Talent Report’ with Jason Smith, Vice President Marketing Communications, HSMAI

‘From Gen Z to Boomers: How to Build a Cohesive, Inclusive Workplace,’ led by moderator Amanda Elder, Chief Commercial Officer, Kempinski Hotels, with panellists Professor Scott Richardson (Ph.D.), Academic Dean of Abu Dhabi Hospitality Academy, Les Roches; Sebastián Martinez, Manager Global Revenue Strategy, Kempinski Hotels; Melissa Salibi, EVP, Global Human Resources, Kerzner International, and Bill Walshe, Strategic Advisor & Brand Consultant

‘The Valuepreneurship Advantage Roadmap to Immediate Impact’ with Sanjeev Loomba, Transformationalist, Author, Thought Leader, and Keynote Master Speaker, Valuepreneurship®

‘What Does Successful Commercial Collaboration REALLY Look Like?’ from an HR perspective with Marie-Louise Ek, VP Human Resources Middle East & Africa, Hilton
A key highlight at the Annual Commercial Strategy Conference Middle East is ROC(ing) Lightening Rounds where industry leaders unleash a whirlwind of wisdom in lightning-fast, adrenaline-pumping sessions in under seven minutes. This year’s speakers include Kinda Ibrahim, Regional GM Operations - METAP, Central and South Asia, Tik Tok; Bill Walshe, Strategic Advisor & Brand Consultant; Ashish Narang, CHBA, Regional Director of Revenue Management, MEA at Kempinski Hotels, and CS Ramachandran, CRME, VP Hotel Revenue Optimization, Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

At the end of the second day, the ROCKSTAR Awards 2024 will celebrate disruptors, pioneers, the bold and the visionary who have pushed boundaries and set new standards of excellence. Eight finalists will present their game-changing strategies and achievements on stage in under 2.5 minutes and the audience gets to decide the winners in a live voting.
Following the tradition of previous years, closing remarks will be given by Jeff Strachan from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) who will make sure that attendees leave with a “to-do-list” of actionable insights and unified industry efforts, acting as a catalyst for future success in the industry.

Mona Faraj, Managing Director, HSMAI Middle East, said: “Each year, we strive to develop a programme that introduces new and valuable experiences for our audience. This year we have introduced Masterclasses, our ‘Ask Me Anything Forum’ as well as a focus on asset management which is a hot issue in the industry. In addition to topics such as sustainability and HR, we will be covering Artificial Intelligence with a 360-degree approach from inspiration and theory to application”.