Given the current conflict in the Middle East, a slowdown in senior hiring across the region is to be expected.
At Trinity Bridge, we track senior hospitality appointments globally, and the scale of change has been interesting. Across the six months from March to August, appointments in the Middle East are down 84% on the same period last year, with Dubai down 80%.
Globally, appointments in our dataset are down 29% over the same period.
As a result, the Middle East’s share of all senior hotel appointments we have recorded globally has fallen from around 22% last year to just 5% this year. Dubai’s share has moved from around 13% to 4%.
Senior leadership changes are only one indicator of market activity, but they provide an interesting lens on confidence and investment.
A slowdown in appointments does not necessarily mean a corresponding slowdown in the region’s long-term hospitality ambitions. Much of the current market appears to be characterised by caution and delayed decision making rather than an abandonment of growth plans.
The question is what happens when confidence returns. Will hiring simply resume at its previous pace, or will the current pause create a backlog of leadership appointments as owners and operators move quickly to secure the talent they need for the next phase of growth?
