Olivier Harnisch

CEO
Emaar Hospitality Group

Olivier Harnisch brings to Emaar over 30 years of international experience in the hotel and tourism industry. He joined Emaar from Brussels, where he was Chief Operating Officer of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, responsible for a portfolio of over 350 hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, leading a team of over 40.000 associates.

Having worked across the globe, Olivier is fluent in six languages. Olivier was also a board member of the German Hotel Association and of the Faculty of Hotel Administration at the University of Munich.

He holds an MSc in Organizational Behavior from the University of London, an MBA in International Finance from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and a Degree in Hospitality Management from the Berlin School of Hotel Administration. In addition, Olivier has been the awarded the distinction “Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA)” by the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Olivier holds a US pilot license since 1998 and is a passionate airplane pilot. He is also an avid water-skier.

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Olivier.

Download The Latest Agenda

Conference Day One: Monday, 22 January 2018

Monday, January 22nd, 2018

9:30 AM Attracting millennials through sustainable and smart design concepts

Experts predict that millennials will make up over 50 per cent of the world’s hotel guests by 2020.

This is why hotel brands are rushing to meet and exceed the needs of these travelers.

This presentation will express how hotels can meet the expectations of tech-savvy guests while simultaneously renovating and upgrading their infrastructure and offering sustainable design concepts to embrace millennials and secure future revenue.

11:30 AM PANEL DISCUSSION: Enhancing the competitiveness of hotels and resorts and envisioning the future of the regional economy

The Middle East holds one of the largest hotel development pipelines in the world with more than 300 hotels in the construction phase. Therefore, competition across the region is extremely high and hotel owners and operators have to continuously upgrade their infrastructure to increase their market share and stay competitive.

In this session, leading hoteliers will discuss what their plans are to ensure the future competitiveness of their hotels.

This session will address:

Key driving factors behind the impressive pipeline of hotels coming up in the Middle East
Life after Expo 2020: Future plans to ensure the continued prominence of the hospitality industry after the expo is over
Strategies to cope with the supply and demand challenges and maintaining high Average Daily Rates given the rising competitiveness