Third Party Hotel Management on the Rise

In the lead up to their participation at the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) in Dubai in September, 2022, Hala Matar Choufany, President Middle East, Africa and South Asia for HVS, and Bani Haddad, Founder & Managing Director of Aleph Hospitality caught up to discuss how third party management has evolved over the years with a focus on the Middle East and Africa.
Hala Matar Choufany In the discussion with Bani Haddad, Hala Matar Choufany discusses the change in traveler behaviour and experiences as the new trend. Hala Matar Choufany also reviews the maturity levels of Middle East countries. The discussion leads to the topic of rising third-party hotel management contracts, where Bani Haddad explains the value proposition of third-party management companies. Some of the benefits of working with a third-party management company are the avoidance of corporate expense structures, which leads to lower costs and a better bottom line, and simple and flexible contractual terms. Although, the most important factor is the priority given to the owner's interest. Traditional management agreements from brands are complicated with hidden fees that only appear after the start of the hotel operation. 
   

Hala Matar Choufany finishes the discussion by distinguishing three types of investors and their interest in third-party management companies and points out the rising acceptance of such operations. While operating under two agreements is complicated for many due to lacking knowledge and high-risk aversion, there is an increasing acceptance in the Middle East region, which will lead to a rising number of such operation type.

For the full video discussion, please press here!

Hala is an experienced Regional President and Managing Partner, an industry expert, and is recognized as one of the most influential leaders in the hospitality industry, notably in the Middle East and Africa region.

Hala has advised on more than 5,000 hospitality and mixed-use projects in the last 20 years across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. She has advised clients in areas such as Valuations, Acquisitions, Asset Management, Strategic investments and development, Contract Negotiations, and general Real Estate Strategic Advisory.

Hala has authored more than 50 publications and speaks frequently at investment and hospitality related conferences on a range of topics including asset valuation, investments, management issues and women leadership.

In addition to being a Board Member of HVS Global, Hala sits on the Boards of Harvard Business School Club of the GCC, Hotel Investment Advisory Board, and is regularly invited to Boards as a subject matter expert in the industry. Hala is frequently invited to discuss hotel and tourism trends on major news channel including Alarabiya, Bloomberg, Abu Dhabi TV, Forbes, Breaking Travel News and CNN.

Hala is also a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC). 

Hala completed Executive Education at Harvard Business School. She also holds an MBA in Finance and Strategy from IMHI (Essec- Cornell) University, Paris, France and a BA in Hospitality Management from Notre Dame University, Lebanon. Hala is fluent in English, French and Arabic.

Born in Beirut, Hala lived and worked in several cities across Europe, Asia and Middle East and is a mother of three.


For more information, contact Hala at [email protected].

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