Amir: Basically, I'm a hotelier who spent more than 17 years in the hospitality industry. Shaza is one of the brands focusing into storytelling and the Silk Route. They are focused towards culture and family tourism. They are a boutique hotel brand - not focused on increasing massive room inventory, but on hotels where we can introduce culture, where we can introduce the Silk Route storytelling. You can find us everywhere: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram. We are not a big hotel brand, but we are a boutique hotel that focuses on ethics, family travelers, personalised guest care.
Vlad: What is your perspective on the market right now? How do you see the next few months or years?
Amir: The market is really unpredictable. Everybody is shifting their business model now. Before, people were focusing on short terms and aggressive rates - once a few units get booked, they start playing with dynamic rates to increase ADR. But now, after the geopolitical issues, people are focusing more into occupancy. They are not into ADR-driven hotels as of now. Everybody is focusing into occupancy to cover their expenses. Not only the UAE market - across the GCC in my other hotels as well, due to travel disruptions. If you look at the Qatar market, airports are not fully operational. Bahrain is not fully operational. These countries have to rely on expatriates living within the country, corporate clients, and a very few customers coming from Beirut, Saudi, and surrounding areas. They are majorly focusing into occupancy rather than ADR. This is a twist that has happened within the market and is impacting badly, not only UAE but across the GCC.
Vlad: From your perspective, what is something you understand about luxury hospitality that most brands are still getting wrong or underestimating?
Amir: Most luxury brands are doing completely wrong things. Everybody is talking about services, amenities, add-ons, packages. These are all tangible services, which guests can feel. What they are actually missing is emotion. When a guest arrives at reception, they must be recognised. The connection with the guest is what I feel is missing. Everybody is talking about, we have luxury amenities in the room - Bvlgari and this kind of thing. But what people have to focus on is detailed attention, guest expectations, what exactly the guest is looking for. If the guest engagement team and the hotel team focus on this, they can build a more sustainable business for the long term. Everybody can buy amenities, packages, lunch and dinner - but nobody can buy the experience. People come to luxury hotels to have an experience. If the emotional touch is missing - if nobody really cares - people feel left out. In my room I have high-end amenities, which I paid for. In my package I have breakfast and dinner, which I paid for. But what is missing is that emotional touch. That is the high luxury I feel hotels need to focus on.
Vlad: You're right. The market expectation has changed - guests expect things immediately now. How do you manage expectations on site when guests expect more than you can deliver?
Amir: If I talk about expectations and reality, it's a merger of technology and human service touch - you cannot split the two. If I'm a guest and I book a hotel, I can already feed all my information: I'm coming for my anniversary, my honeymoon, my birthday. I can key in all of that into the reservation. But when it comes to the human touch, that's the hotel team's responsibility. They have to focus on that - because I've already given my expectations, I've put in my requirements. When I arrive, this is the lead for the hotel to make my stay memorable. The more loyal customers you have, the more customers who trust your brand, the more they will spread your name by word of mouth. When technology and human service merge, that is when you meet guest experience expectations. The hotel team gets in touch with the customer. They inform him about his stay, about the services included. At least the guest is prepared. He's in that zone: I'm going to stay at a Shaza hotel, they're going to take care of my setup. The guest is well prepared.
Vlad: I agree. I once went to a hotel in Romania and somehow they knew it was my birthday - they gave me a glass of wine on arrival. It was such a warm experience. Even a small gesture like that creates a connection. Now if I travel to that city again, I'll go back because of how they treated me. They didn't create a huge expectation but I got more than I expected.
Amir: Exactly. This is where AI comes into the picture and takes a huge place. Your profile is available everywhere - many hotel brands and systems are pulling out that information and trying to personalise things as per your requirements. Most hotels, especially if you are loyal to a brand, your privacy and requirements are saved in their system. So whenever you check in at any property with your reservation, they know exactly who you are, what your requirements are, and how they can meet them.
Vlad: Why has the hotel booking journey remained so fragmented despite years of technical innovation?
Amir: If I talk about direct bookings versus OTA bookings, most people think OTA bookings are purely a cost acquisition. Behind every OTA reservation, there is a cost involved - between 15% to 22% commission with the big OTA channels. But when it comes to direct bookings through the hotel's own platform, that creates a direct link between the hotel and the customer. Most hotels run a best-rate guarantee, which is what we do as well. We say: whatever you are seeing on any OTA platform, visit our brand website and you will get a better rate. What I gain from that is guest trust, because whatever I promised through the BRG, the guest is getting it. I'm saving commissions - a huge amount I would otherwise pay. I'm winning a loyal customer, because if a customer sees a price cheaper than any other platform, they will book through us. Once they book through us, I have all their information in my system, I know their requirements, and I know they came directly. So I pay extra attention to them in terms of repeat business and loyalty. To have direct bookings versus OTA conversion bookings is always more beneficial, and all brands are focusing more on direct bookings because it helps them gain customer trust while reducing cost of acquisition.
Vlad: How I see it: on third-party platforms, you are renting clients. You don't own them. They associate the experience with the platform, not with your brand. There's a huge difference between someone saying "I found this hotel on Booking.com" versus "I stay at this hotel." The transparency, control, and long-term growth - it all sits with direct.
Amir: Definitely. If you are renting a client, you have no control on the booking. Whatever the third party publishes is what they see. If you have a customer coming through your brand website, you have full control on that reservation. You know who is traveling, what their requirements are, and how you can meet their expectations. Because in this world, everything is experience. Everything is meeting expectations. If you have full control over a booking, you can deliver better than any third-party reservation.
Vlad: If you had to do today's job with everything that now exists - AI and integrated systems - what would you change compared to five or ten years ago?
Amir: From five to ten years ago until now, most brands have moved to an AI-based approach. Previously, all bookings were handled on a pretty manual side. Now everything is in place: the integrated systems, booking engines, CRM, hotel review systems. Within Shaza itself, they have become stronger in cultural storytelling, guest experience, visible technologies, operational intelligence, and revenue discipline. Since AI systems came in, rate parity has improved, rate leakage has dropped. This helps maintain occupancy and market position.
Vlad: How do you manage building direct bookings while competing with Airbnb, Booking.com, and the others? Do you think it is easier for hotels to go third-party or to build their direct channel?
Amir: To be on third-party is way easier than to increase your direct share. Third party is their core focus - Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, Airbnb, thousands of partners added. You just name the city and find the hotels. But when it comes to direct hotel bookings, if you can manage those bookings through your brand website, they are more efficient - more genuine bookings for you. This is what really helps you define yourself in the market. Being a brand that is strong in direct reservations and also present on OTAs, while maintaining rate parity and managing rate leakage - that is what separates you. Most hotels are struggling to manage rate parity and rate leakage. If you can manage your brand website alongside your OTAs and hold the BRG promise, you create a clear market position that most brands are failing to build.
Vlad: What are the biggest friction points in hotel operations when it comes to guest management day to day?
Amir: The biggest challenge is insufficient communication between departments - front office, housekeeping, maintenance. When the reservations team doesn't pass complete information to the operations team, it creates chaos. There will be delays in rooms. There will be missed guest requests. The operations team won't be able to fulfill guest requirements. This leads to a service failure. If reservations and operations collaborate more closely, these things can be minimised and the guest experience can be enhanced.
Vlad: What is the thinking process for a customer choosing a hotel they haven't heard of before - what makes them pick one brand over another?
Amir: Differentiation. Every brand has their own legacy, their own specialisation, their own way of meeting customer requirements. If I talk about Shaza: we are about storytelling, sincere experience, emotional connections, the Silk Route. We are not expanding into the market with the number of keys added to a portfolio without taking care of what we stand for. We focus on guest experience. If a guest really enjoyed their stay with the brand, they will stick with it. They will be loyal members. They will understand that Shaza is about experience, about culture, about what we talk about. If I'm available in Oman, we showcase Omani culture. A guest from Europe who stays with us in Oman actually experiences the culture of Oman - they understand where they are and what they are living. If they then travel to Saudi, they know the culture will be different and they will experience something new. That is how I differentiate Shaza from other brands. If your hotel has uniqueness in the market - if it is famous for its culture, for storytelling, for its Silk Route heritage - that is what brings the clientele to your brand website rather than a competitor's.
Vlad: Where can people find more about you and Shaza Hotels?
Amir: They can find us anywhere - from Google to LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram. If they want meaningful family staycations or cultural stays, they can find us everywhere. Just search Shaza Hotels on Google and our properties will appear.
Vlad: Amir, thank you so much for being our guest and for everything you shared today.
Amir: It was a pleasure to be here. Thanks for the invitation. The world is evolving - people are talking about experience, luxury, and technology. I hope what I shared helps others and makes sense to implement.
