Hotel Show opens today

Sheikh Ahmed was accompanied by Bernard Walsh, Managing Director of dmg Index Exhibitions Ltd, owners of The Hotel Show and Joanne Evans and Laith Kubba, directors of Streamline Marketing and organisers of the event, as he cut the ribbon to officially inaugurate the three-day exhibition taking place at Airport Expo Dubai.

He then set off on a tour of the exhibition hall where 310 exhibitors from a record number of 33 countries are displaying a huge range of products and services vital to the day-to-day running of any hotel.

Now in its fifth year, the event expects to attract a large number of leading hotel owners, developers and operators who bring with them extensive shopping lists for the dozens of new hotel properties under development and the scores of existing properties needing refurbishment or a replenishment of existing supplies.

For the first time in its history, the event will see an official German pavilion comprising of nearly 40 manufacturers of kitchen and catering equipment, interior and exterior lighting, electric and electronic equipment and furniture.

"With a stable economy and booming hospitality market, Dubai has a great potential for German manufacturers," said Dieter Knospe, representative of the German Association of Catering Equipment manufacturers, one of the initiators of the joint German stand.

"With its carefully selected hospitality industry audience, the Hotel Show provides the right platform for establishing new as well as tightening existing contacts for all German manufacturers," he said.

A wide range of products will see their Middle East launches at The Hotel Show this year, including a new line of safer, environmentally-friendly minibars that will be showcased by leading supplier of special refrigeration, Dometic.

The new product is 15 per cent more energy-efficient than the company's earlier products and more efficient than competitors' products currently available on the market. The devices have a specially integrated cooling unit control system that can shut off the unit from power in case of a malfunction or micro-leak, thus eliminating the possibility of ammonia leakages.

Among other German exhibitors is Siemens Hospitality Services, a leading provider of turnkey solutions for the planning, implementation and management of all information and communications equipment. Part of the Siemens Information and Communication Networks group, the company has subsidiaries in over 190 countries, including a Center of Competence with a team of hospitality experts in Dubai Internet City, which was set up earlier this year.

Siemens Hospitality Services will showcase a new software application known as the HiPath Hospitality Service Centre, which optimises telephony at the hotel workstation while also making use of excellent integration capabilities to leverage the benefits of central data resources. Also on show will be an easily-managed and cost-effective solution for guest entertainment systems, which features video-on-demand streaming, hotel information services, guest services, internet access, email services and TV services.

Running alongside the event for a third year is The Office Exhibition, giving office suppliers a valuable introduction to the rapidly expanding Middle East office development sector.

The Hotel Show is held under the patronage of H.H.General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Government of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, which uses its international network of offices to promote the event. The exhibition is also supported by the UK, German, Spanish, French and Portuguese governments, in addition to a group organised by the US Department of Commerce.

The Hotel Show's international exhibitor line-up includes manufacturers of air conditioning, audio visual, video conferencing and sound systems, bathroom supplies and bed linen, building materials, cutlery and crockery, carpeting and curtains.

Also taking part are leading producers of computer hardware and software, fitness, spa and pool equipment, buses, vans and limousines, landscaping services, management and reservations systems, telecommunications systems and uniforms.