Dubai turned the dial up to full sparkle as HSMAI MEA wrapped its biggest, boldest Commercial Strategy Conference yet with its high energy two-day event welcoming 400+ attendees, and featuring 83 Speakers, 55 Sessions plus a whole lot of hospitality hot takes.
If anyone ever doubted that the MEA hospitality brain trust knows how to throw a show, HSMAI MEA’s 8th annual Commercial Strategy Conference has settled it, and with so much flair. Over two high-octane days at the Conrad Dubai, the region’s sharpest minds in sales, marketing, revenue management and distribution descended for a powerhouse programme packed with big ideas, brave conversations, and the kind of networking that makes LinkedIn notifications sweat.
Attendance surged by 15% this year, with 21% flying in from beyond the UAE. The energy was unmistakably “industry reunion meets ideas festival.”
A power kick-off: Nick Santonastasso set the pace
There are keynotes… and then there’s Nick Santonastasso.
The globally recognised speaker, entrepreneur and bestselling author opened the conference with a jolt of inspiration, turning adversity into a masterclass on leadership, resilience, and growth. His message? Innovation isn’t born from comfort, it’s born from courage. And with that, the tone for the next 48 hours was firmly set.
Across keynotes, panels, fireside chats, masterclasses and more, the themes this year were bold, relevant and future-facing. Here’s what stole the spotlight (in no particular order):
Breaking down silos
The ‘One team, one strategy’ panel discussed breaking down silos in commercial performance, highlighting that silos are behavioral and can be changed. Leaders from top hospitality brands including Hilton, Marriott, Jumeirah, IHG, and Accor emphasised the need for unified commercial KPIs, shared dashboards, cross-functional collaboration, and integrated decision-making, stressing that true collaboration requires a mindset shift built on humility, openness, and genuine listening.
From SEO to GEO: the new frontier in hospitality
The marketing landscape is shifting rapidly, with SEO giving way to GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) marketing. Experts revealed that AI prioritises structured, consistent, and credible hotel brands, introducing the 3C Framework: Clarity, Consistency, and Credibility. With GenAI overtaking social media as the top travel discovery channel, hotels must adapt to survive. Richard Grant, Performance Director at 80 DAYS, emphasised the need for hotels to optimize their digital presence, while Amy Read, VP Innovation at Hospitality Solutions, highlighted the shift in traveller behavior, with 60% starting without a destination in mind, and AI shaping their first inspiration.
To win, hotels must structure content to match intent, leveraging GEO marketing, hyper-local search, and voice-led discovery. AI is no longer a buzzword, but a boardroom essential, reshaping revenue optimisation, segmentation, personalisation, and predictive forecasting, requiring operational shifts, new skill sets, and a cultural mindset change to harness its power responsibly and competitively.
Insights to luxury and loyalty
The panel discussion, ‘Beyond Service: What Hospitality Can Learn from Luxury Brands’, with Natalia Jaramillo (Natalia Jaramillo Ultra Luxury Consulting), Fabienne Mathis (Jetex), Charles Scouarnec (L’Oréal Luxe GCC), explored the evolving landscape of modern luxury, where heritage meets innovation, exclusivity meets relevance, and emotional storytelling meets tech-enabled personalisation. The conversation highlighted the importance of identity, desire, and loyalty built on feeling, not just points. The panel also touched on the role of AI in reshaping the luxury experience, emphasising that it’s not about replacing the human touch, but about augmenting it.
Then there’s the discussion of loyalty, and making it a lifestyle. Loyalty experts unpacked how point-chasing is giving way to emotion-driven membership. Think recognition, access, community and personalisation. For brands, it means engineering loyalty as an experience, not a transaction.
Leadership and profitability
The conference dove deep into the metrics driving hotel profitability, with experts exploring TRevPAR, GOPPAR, cost of acquisition, and channel economics, revealing that success in 2025 and beyond will belong to hotels that measure smarter, not just more. This data-led approach requires leaders who can think beyond silos, as VP Operations – KSA, Accor, Moustafa Manoon highlighted, emphasising the need for technical experts to transition into business leaders, prioritising big-picture thinking, curiosity, and cross-functional collaboration to drive true profitability.
Storytelling with teeth
Bestselling author and communications powerhouse Maha Abouelenein electrified the stage with a keynote on connected storytelling – how narratives shape trust, brand power, and loyalty. Her practical frameworks for narrative-building were a hit, sparking some of the buzziest conversations of the event.
This reinforced CEO & Managing Partner at Talent & Truth, Sabine Kühn’s emphasis on the importance of LinkedIn presence as a digital lobby. She introduced the Triangle of Influence framework to strengthen personal branding: Likeability (build connections), Trust (share your leadership story), and Authority (shape industry insights). She encouraged leaders to treat LinkedIn as a living dialogue, building relationships and visibility with intention.
ROCKSTAR Awards celebrating the industry’s boldest
This year’s ROCKSTAR Awards did not disappoint. Complete with on-stage live pitches from nine fierce finalists redefining innovation in the region’s hospitality landscape, the audience crowned the top three who won prizes courtesy of Wego, HSMAI, Les Roches and Glion Hospitality & Business Education:
- Kuda Mukonoweshuro, Director of Sales, Radisson Hotel Dubai Damac Hills
- Nawfal Mbamba, Director of Marketing & Communications, Al Baleed Resort Salalah by Anantara
- Hassan Khan, Revenue Analyst, Radisson Hotel & Apartments Dammam Industrial City
All finalists walked away with a trio of powerful reads including Rules of Self-Reliance by Maha Abouelenein (signed onsite), Empathy at Work by Mimi Nicklin, and The AI Literacy Playbook for Hoteliers by Michael J. Goldrich – a mini library of future-forward thinking.
Reflecting on the event, Mona Faraj, President of HSMAI MEA, shared:
“We have had an incredible two days of knowledge sharing, networking, discussions and debates, tackling some of the most pressing topics in hospitality sales, marketing, revenue management and distribution. This conference, developed by the industry for the industry, is not possible without the support from our amazing partners, sponsors, volunteers, advisory board members and our highly engaged audience members. This community is like a family, and we can’t wait for another action-packed year of events, courses and social gatherings in 2026.”
If the 2025 edition of HSMAI MEA’s Commercial Strategy Conference proved anything, it’s that the region is not only keeping pace with global hospitality, it’s actually setting the rhythm. With sharper strategy, stronger community and a healthy obsession with innovation, 2026 is already looking like a blockbuster year.
This year’s event was organised in partnership with Dubai Economy and Tourism as Destination Partner; 80 DAYS, Global Hotel Alliance and Yango Ads as Platinum Partners; Canary Technologies, FLYR, JBR Communicators, Plusgrade, and RateGain as Gold Partners;, and Glion and Les Roches as Educational Partners.
Also read: Smarter tech, stronger loyalty: The emerging trends ahead of HSMAI MEA 2025
