RLA Global Group CEO Roger Allen will moderate a plenary panel at the 9th Gulf & Indian Ocean Hotel Investors’ Summit (GIOHIS), taking place on 26 and 27 October 2026 at the Anantara Downtown Dubai Hotel.
The session, BR-IS: As multiple players enter the branded residential space, can hotel groups ultimately come out on top?, opens the debate on one of the fastest-moving segments in the region. Across the GCC, fashion, automotive, design and entertainment brands are launching residential projects at pace, and developers now have more choice than ever. The question is whether these newcomers can match the service standards and brand premium that established hotel groups have built over decades.
Roger will be joined by:
- Joao Cravo, Trilight Hospitality
- Marion Fabro Delmas, H&H
- Yigit Sezgin, Clé & Partners
- Rico Picenoni, Langham Hospitality
The panel will look at how developers choose between a hotel brand and a non-hotel brand, how much of the sales premium is genuinely down to the brand, and whether the economics still hold once higher build costs and brand fees are factored in. It will also examine whether non-hotel brands have the operating depth to look after owners once the units are sold, the role of rental programmes for buyers seeking yield as well as lifestyle, and what will protect a branded residence’s value once the launch campaign is over.
Session details
Monday 26 October 2026, 10:40 to 11:15
Ballroom, Anantara Downtown Dubai Hotel
If you are attending GIOHIS, we would be delighted to see you there. Whether you are a client, an industry peer, a colleague or a friend of RLA Global, please come and say hello.
To schedule a meeting with Roger while in Dubai, email us at contactus@rlaglobal.com.
