If you've always dreamed of sitting at the helm of your global hotel empire...and terms like RevPAR, GOPPAR, bottom line profits and market share come easy, then perhaps it's time you put your skills to the test! YoungHotelier.com is proud to introduce the first-ever real-time real-world business simulation for the Hotel Industry, in affiliation with Tycoon Systems, Inc.

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There's good news for visitors who have been waiting for the most popular shopping festival in the region, DSF 2009 (Dubai Shopping Festival 2009) is just around the corner. It has been a big hit from its very first launch in early 1996, getting bigger and better every year. This year, the 14th edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival is scheduled to be held from January 15 to February 15, 2009.



It is the place to be with attractive discounts offered by participating retail outlets and malls, daily car raffles, interesting stalls and recreational rides on Al Seef Road, Global Village, the daily fireworks, plus several shows and activities that are held to make it a fun experience for any age or background. [Read More!]

Dubai has done it again. A new project by design house Palazzo Versace in Dubai has made headlines around the world. The AED 3 billion luxury resort to be built in Culture Village will have the world’s first climate-controlled beach for the hot summer days when temperatures easily go over 40C.



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When the going gets tough, Hotel eMarketers play harder: As the world gets harder, better, faster, stronger in many respects, so do the ripple effects of world events. The recent attacks in Mumbai are a prime example - hotels the world over are now scrambling to take a re-look at their security measures. In terms of broader trends, the worrying shifts in climate pales in comparison to the economic downturn now upon us. Experts claim that this recession is the worst since World War II. The world has always gone through natural economic cycles where every decade or more we take a step back and reevaluate just where we’ve been going wrong…but with increasing interconnectedness, reliance on virtual financial models and technology, the house of cards has become ever so precariously balanced.



The great thing about tough times is that it separates the boys from the men! It’s a cleansing process so to speak…one that rids us of old inefficiencies and forces us to look at better, smarter ways of living and doing business. [Read More!]

At TED2008 in March of this year, TED Prize winner Karen Armstrong was granted a wish to change the world. This is what she asked for:

"I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect."

Since then support for idea has built among numerous religious groups, spiritual leaders such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, and Britain's first female Rabbi Julia Neuberger have joined a special Council to oversee the Charter, and Kluster, a collaborative decision making platform, has built a groundbreaking site that will allow anyone to contribute to the Charter.

We urge you to take a moment to watch a short video that went live on the web today. Beautifully filmed and edited by Jesse Dylan and his team at Form TV, it might just be the most inspiring thing you see this week.

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I’ve been racking my brain for the last few weeks over what to write about. The interesting thing is that it’s not lack of choice that’s been the trouble…it’s too much of it! From the excitement caused by US underdog Barack Obama’s win and the promise of a brighter political future… to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer causing a buzz with his first-ever “holographic” interviews in the newsroom, there’s been plenty going on to keep techies and armchair futurists abuzz. And while CNN’s holograms weren’t really holograms when you cut to the chase…one development is very real…the advancing global recession that we’re slowly coming to grips with.



Hospitality media has been filled with reports about dropping profits margins, especially in hard hit areas and suggestions to hoteliers on how to best tackle the market situation, i.e. tough it out, work smart and dust off your selling shoes. What surprises me, though, is that while the hotel industry continues its distribution war with online 3rd parties with super-deep advertising pockets, it still continues to ignore its most lucrative booking distribution channel…its guests! [Read More!]

Take a video tour of the Kingdom of Bahrain with this 5min collage of footage from this modern country set in the Gulf!



The Kingdom of Bahrain—a name that translates as "Two Seas"—is actually an archipelago of 33 low-lying islands located in the heart of the Gulf. Situated along traditional Arabian and international trade routes between Asia and the West, the Kingdom has served as an important port and center of business for thousands of years. Today, the capital city of Manama is a vibrant cosmopolitan center offering an open society and an educated workforce enhanced by modern cultural am enities like museums, shopping, restaurants and fine hotels.
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5 Future Developments that will revolutionize Online Hotel Marketing: “For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today”, says a famous proverb…and what better fit to apply this than in the world of technology and marketing?



The breakneck speed of tech evolution is inspiring (and often scary) but the two keywords that will set winning developments apart from the ‘also ran’ are ‘love’ and ‘simplicity’. It doesn’t take a degree to understand that people adopt technologies that fuel their imagination & passions…and the rate of adoption is in close sync to the simplicity of its interface and operation. Great technology needs to adapt to the needs of the user and future breakthroughs will bear testament to this. [Read More!]

About XDRTB.org - XDRTB.org is an extraordinary effort to tell the story of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) and TB through powerful photographs taken by James Nachtwey. XDR-TB, or extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, is a new and deadly mutation of tuberculosis. Similar in creation to multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) but more extreme in its manifestation, it arises when common tuberculosis goes untreated or standard TB drugs are misused. James’ photographs represent these varying strains.

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It is the year 2020. The past twelve years have been a flurry of development in the areas of design, nanotechnology, robotics, medicine, the internet, security and law. Contrary to popular opinion, the hotel industry has not been slow on the uptake. It’s been the decade of hospitality renaissance. A coming of age, an evolution of service as it should be…and a tribute to true personalization. Here’s a look at the hotel guest experience in the year 2020 and how guests have helped the industry become truly magnificent: [Read More!]

Watch Matt do this thing - he spent 14 months, visited 42 countries and involved thousands of people around the globe (including Bahrain!) in this effort. Truly inspirational and worth sharing with the world...have a fantastic day!


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Westin ATM party draws over 2,000: Pre-ATM bash declared ‘hottest’ party of the year



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 6, 2008 – It was Open House at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina last night as the five-star resort flung open its doors to welcome in the world’s travel industry and give them a glimpse of Dubai’s very latest beachfront resort.
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Are you a hotel eMarketer looking for ways to better communicate, educate and develop the role at your property/ies? This article explores some of the issues surrounding these efforts, complemented by a dose of perspective and a generous helping of best practices, all garnished, hopefully, by your own ideas and experiences. By Jitendra Jain

Finding Meaning: Wikipedia attributes the word ‘evolution’ to the Latin term ‘evolutio’ meaning "unfolding". While the tech and Internet revolution have anything but “unfolded” upon us (“exploded” would be more appropriate, given the short span of time over which most Internet-related developments have occurred), there is something to be learnt from the nature of these changes.
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With the spectacular W Hotel in Doha set to open this year, there are plenty of opportunities for young talent to showcase their abilities at this landmark property. Check out the details below, including a full release on the hotel and some visuals!



W HOTELS. DOHA. QATAR. PRE-OPENING OPPORTUNITIES. TALENT. SHOW. Auditioning now for the following talent:

> Welcome Office - Welcome Agents
> Welcome Office - W Insiders
> Whatever/Whenever - Concierge
> Beverage & Food – Servers
> Beverage & Food – Hostesses
> Beverage & Food – Bartenders [Read More!]

10 photos from the underground work going on with the Dubai Metro Project. View the photos here [Read More!]