Whilst growth in regional tourism lags behind global growth, due to political and social factors, there are bright spots and plenty of optimism abound. For example, the region is not far off one billion overnight international visitors and the GCC’s hospitality market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8.1 per cent to $28.3 billion by 2016 compared to $19.2 billion in 2011. With such numbers checking in there is an expectation on hotels to meet an international standard - and if they don’t guests are quite capable of taking their opinions online and taking future loyalties elsewhere. In a competitive environment such as this, it is increasingly difficult to maintain consistency with every bed change, laundry wash, floor clean and deep clean – day in, day out – to keep guests beyond satisfied. So what is the barometer for success? Is it possible to compile data from multiple resources to measure the efficiency of a hospitality facility and the guest satisfaction that was delivered? Quality assurance inspections, work order turnaround and check-in times might all be very interesting. But at the end of the day, what truly counts is inevitably the guest experience, their well-being and overall satisfaction.

As a consequence, every aspect of a hotel establishment, from the reception to the check-out procedure has to be of a consistent standard and the simplest inconvenience can ruin the overall experience. It could be an old soap left in the bathroom, a towel not changed or a dirty window. This brings in facilities management which, in the Middle East, has traditionally been handled in-house but as an increase in supply creates an increase in standards, cleaning becomes ever more technical and specialist – not just in the delivery but also the management of it. You only have to look at hotels in New York, which were badly affected by a bed bug infestation in 2010, spreading to department stores, cinemas and theatres to understand how quickly a consistent standard can become, well, inconsistent! Which is why outsourcing the FM, specifically to one specialist provider such as M Five Services, ensures that hotels are minimizing the risk because all the non-core operations of a hotel are being passed over to those who have a technical knowledge of such crises. This subsequently allows management to focus on the guests and will allow the hotel’s internal operations department to focus on its own longer term strategic priorities rather than concern themselves with everyday logistics.

Furthermore, it is actually easier to implement any necessary changes on a service provider than in-house operations and cheaper especially when you consider that FM companies can now deliver integrated services and offer total solutions in pest control, landscaping, waste management, window cleaning, room cleaning, security and MEP. So training each team on the hotel brand, hotel operations and hotel standards is streamlined – as is the reporting back on those same standards especially when we consider CAFM technology and asset maintenance programmes.

Such software gives FM operators the ability to match staff to current demand, which is especially useful for the cleaning operation of a hotel because it removes the fixed cost element on labour allowing hotels to earn a higher room return. And the economies of scale that FM companies deal with allows flexibility in cleaning teams, allowing them to offer a fixed rate per room. Operators are therefore only paying for rooms that are cleaned as opposed to staff on site - important to accurately forecast costing. I’m pleased to see that more hotels are waking up to the advantages of outsourced FM and cleaning because it is illustrative of the progression our industry is making and the recognition it is receiving. The perception of a facilities manager is shifting from that of an interchangeable supplier to a true strategic partner. And to meet increased demand for services and the need to efficiently manage costs, hotel administrators in Europe and North America have successfully partnered with industry experts who provide complete non-core service solutions. The same, I believe, is now beginning to take shape in the Middle East.