UAE: The inaugural Urban Living Festival MEA took place yesterday at the Rove Downtown hotel in Dubai.
Around 90 attendees from across the real estate, hospitality, short-term rental and proptech sectors enjoyed a broad mix of panels, presentations, case studies and workshops. After a welcome from IHM CEO Piers Brown, a panel of investors, developers and lenders discussed the challenges and opportunities they are facing in buying, funding and delivering real estate across the living and hospitality sectors.
The buoyancy of the market in Dubai was a recurring theme, with investment in the Emirate’s property market continuing to pour in thanks to its status as a stable market in a volatile region. Selim El Zein, vice president and head of assets at Dubai-based developer Deyaar, cited the pegging of the UAE Dhiram to the US dollar as another stabilising factor and said that interest rates are on a downward curve, which is encouraging more development activity.
The rapid emergence of Saudi Arabia as a potent force in the real estate sectors was also discussed, along with the potential for growth of living sectors such as student housing and later living.
The focus then turned southwards to Sub-Saharan Africa. Samantha Muna of Trianum Hospitality chaired a panel discussing the growth of branded hotels and serviced apartments on the continent. Africa his made up of 54 countries with a quarter of the word’s population, so has massive potential for growth. But potential entrants need to be wary of the regulations in individual states, and it essential to form strong relationships and establish trust between property owners and operators. Development finance is also a sticking point, according to JS Anand, founder of Leva Hotels.
The attendees then split in to groups for six interactive workshop discussions around a variety of topics including revenue management, operator selection, flex accommodation for global nomads, branded residences, vacation rentals and property management technology.
After lunch delegates enjoyed a series of case studies which highlighted the sheer variety of real estate innovation in the Gulf region.
Vik Rao, founding partner and CEO of Strategic Housing Group spoke about the company’s Myriad PBSA brand, and the enormous potential of the region’s student sector. Higher education is evolving rapidly in the Gulf states and large scale PBSA is still in its infancy.
Amit Arora, chief operating officer of developer ARADA then presented about Aljada, a self-sustained mixed-use community development in Sharjah, which will eventually feature flagship buildings by Zaha Hadid and Tadao Ando.
We then heard about the potential for coliving in the region from Zakee Ahmed, Founder and CEO, Livinc, who believes Dubai’s coliving sector will eventually feature bigger unit sizes and a stronger tech focus than its UL counterpart.
Finally David Thomson, SVP of commercial for hospitality at The First Group presented about the Ciel Tower, the world’s tallest hotel – which will be the venue for the drinks reception at next year’s Urban Living MEA.
The full event agenda can be found here, and the speaker presentations here.
Attendee feedback
“Thanks for a fantastic day, team. Very well executed and we felt the quality of the attendees was high. All very positive.”
Zakee Ahmed, CEO, Living
“I’ve had a wonderful day here because we are seeing a good mix of segments here from across real estate – developers, short-term rental operators, hotel operators, coliving and student housing operators. So it’s been great to meet people from and learn about different industries – I think that’s been really valuable.”
Athul Mohan, market manager, MEA and Asia, and global franchise partnerships, Pricelabs
“Amazing – I love that there are so many leaders in the same room, so the conversations you have are never superficial. They are always deep, very technical conversations. I am leaving the event much more knowledgeable about what’s happening in the hospitality sector. I have connected with incredible people from incredible companies – what an outstanding event, I am excited for the future.”
Gonçalo Hall, CEO, NOMADIX
“I have loved it. I think the set-up is amazing, I think the concept is incredible. I loved the interaction with the team IHM has here. I think it’s hyper professional and innovative – hats off.”
Vik Rao, founding partner and CEO, Strategic Housing Group
“I have really enjoyed the event. It’s always great to have different stakeholders from the industry come together and have this sort of dialogue. It’s to have a forum where people are accessible and we can all connect and chat – where it’s not so big and too daunting to get involved. It’s been a lovely day.”
Zacky Sajjad, Director, Cavendish Maxwell
