SMARTEAST #24: Dubai is different than before. More Russians, money and our success in hotels

Dubai was, is and will be my business and destination lovebrand.

The reasons are many: the warm climate all year round, the incredible architecture, the bold projects, the global mix of investors and entrepreneurs. It's a huge showroom for new technologies.

I know that every time I come here, I'll see something completely different than before. But on my last trip a few days ago, I realised it was a different Dubai to the one I knew.

There are two main reasons.

The first is the Russians.

Rich Russians have always liked Dubai. Years ago, I used to meet dozens of Russians who spent their leisure time here. But with the war in Ukraine, dozens have become hundreds. Their money and investment can be felt at every turn.

It shows what an unstable ruble and an uncertain future geopolitical situation can mean in practice. Those who can afford it prefer to leave the country and start investing elsewhere.

Full apartments and the end of price wars

Just two years ago, there were a bunch of vacant apartments in Dubai. Developers were jumping on every corner. Today, that's no longer the case. Largely thanks to demand from wealthy Russians, who have bought up the vast majority of vacant units. The situation has gone so far that some hotels have started to turn into apartment units. But new apartments and villas are also being built.

The business climate has also changed. The Russians have set up their own development companies, their own design firms. This is a clear signal - we do not believe that we will go back, this is where our new home will be, this is where our savings will continue to make sense. And in personal debates they will sometimes admit to you that the hardest thing for them is to export money out of Russia.

The rapid growth of the Russian expat community has also made its way into the tenders. They are not looking at every crown/dinar/ruble. What is important is the quality, comfort level and speed of the whole implementation. Ironically, having worked in Russia before the war, we also have the advantage of still having some of the technical documentation in Russian, which wealthy investors can often appreciate.

Of course, this competition also puts a lot of pressure on local or other foreign partners, who had to rethink their approach a bit, because there was a scramble for contracts and suitable contractors.

Our HRESK is on the move

And the avalanche of money and investment is going - and helping our business too.

Because anything that becomes obsolete has no place in Dubai or the Middle East.

It was late yesterday.

I'm thrilled that our HRESK hotel retrofit system has taken off and we've made deliveries to 4 hotels in Dubai and Qatar in the last month alone.

Hoteliers have understood that this is a way that will demonstrably reduce their energy costs, can control air conditioning and offer guests greater comfort. Last but not least, this also applies to the staff (front desk, housekeeping, maintenance) who get online access to the current status of the hotel room.

And, as is customary in the Middle East, each hotel has its own specific requirements - both in terms of design (colour, icons, design ...) and features.

Each hotel usually asks for a mock-up room, or a demonstration room, where our system is installed and where the owners or investors can try out all the options virtually.

And this is where the main advantage of being a manufacturer - and not just a reseller - comes into play, because we can meet the requirements perfectly.

This is also what sets us apart from the large multinational corporations, which, although they pretend to be first-rate manufacturers, often don't even know where they manufacture - so that customization is an unsolvable problem for them.

And if it is, their term is unacceptable.

Because in the Middle East, "yesterday was too late even though there was a 3 month wait before".