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In the Middle East, Cisco urges the hospitality industry to invest in innovative technology in their businesses, mainly with the use of cellphones. With the ever growing dependence of one’s cell it is crucial you invest in good phone cases to protect it. During the Gitex 2016, Cisco together with GBN showcased the latest technological breakthroughs that were intended for the use of the sector – some of these were aimed to deliver better customer experience, sales and marketing, decreased costs, and ease common management burdens. One of the technologies demonstrated was a mobile app that has the ability to identify guests and recognize where they tend to spend most of their time in the venue – the app can also deliver messages based on the current location of the customer.
The hotel industry is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years. It is estimated that in 2017 alone, about 300 hotels will open in Africa and the Middle East. Twenty percent of the developments that are on the way belong to UAE. The incoming Expo 2020 is predicted to drive 25 million visitors which could bring in more competitors in the hotel industry. Dubai now has over 130 hotel projects being developed. Expansion is also expected to transpire in Qatar as they will be getting ready for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Shukri Eid of Cisco Middle East points out that digitization can be advantageous for a hospitality business for a number of reasons. He says that business owners could expect to build customer loyalty and can even potentially increase room rates just by using technology. Eid also mentioned that there is now a necessity to meet the evolving needs of customers and improving technology used in the establishment is one of them.
Meanwhile, existing and new players in the industry are now tapping into the use of innovative technologies to remain competitive – some of these are now successfully using these to differentiate their business from competitors.
