Hospitality marketing in the UAE is evolving. While attracting international travellers remains fundamental to the industry’s growth, local residents are becoming an increasingly important audience for hotels, restaurants, workspaces and leisure experiences.
For Accor, that shift is not about replacing international tourism. Instead, it reflects a broader commercial evolution driven by changing consumer behaviour, new working patterns and the UAE’s growing resident population. Hotels are no longer viewed solely as places to stay during a trip; they are becoming destinations that residents visit throughout the year for dining, wellness, flexible working, family activities and short breaks.
As a result, hospitality marketing is moving beyond selling destinations towards building ongoing relationships with audiences that already live in the market.
“This isn’t just about the current situation. It’s a proactive embrace of significant evolvements at Accor, especially within our Food & Beverage offerings and staycation experiences. Local resident demand is now a core, year-round engine for sustained growth,” says Kerry Healy, Chief Commercial Officer, Premium, Midscale & Economy, MEA APAC at Accor.
Recent market uncertainty has reinforced the value of this strategy, but Healy emphasises that the focus on residents is fundamentally a structural change rather than a temporary response. As the UAE’s resident population continues to grow, hospitality brands are recognising the importance of balancing international tourism with a consistent domestic audience that engages with hotels far more frequently.
“While global travel remains foundational, hotels across the UAE increasingly recognise residents as an incredibly valuable, sophisticated audience. They are high-frequency guests, seeking repeat experiences, and discerning in their choices, which really drives innovation,” says Healy.
Hospitality is moving from bookings to belonging
That changing relationship is also altering how consumers use hospitality spaces. Residents are increasingly looking for experiences that fit around everyday life; seeking shorter, more flexible and experience-led moments closer to home rather than major holidays. Short staycations, flexible workspaces, family activities and wellness experiences are becoming part of regular routines instead of occasional indulgences.
Healy describes this as the era of the “micro-escape”, where residents seek shorter, more accessible breaks that fit into busy schedules. Rather than planning long holidays, many consumers are looking for convenient opportunities to recharge over weekends, school holidays and public holidays.
For hospitality brands, this means moving beyond transactional interactions – such as a holiday booking, business trip or annual getaway – and creating more frequent reasons for consumers to engage.
The rise of hybrid working has accelerated this behavioural shift even further. As the boundaries between work and leisure continue to blur, demand for work-from-hotel concepts and flexible hospitality spaces has grown significantly. Hotels are increasingly expected to provide environments that support productivity alongside relaxation, creating new opportunities to engage guests beyond traditional overnight stays.
“People aren’t just looking for a desk, they want a genuinely comfortable and inspiring environment that allows them to be productive. That’s why we’ve been so proactive with flexible room use, those convenient day-stay offers like ‘Hotel Office,’ and seriously upgrading our co-working spaces. Brands like Novotel, with their natural adaptability, are perfect for this seamless integration. It’s about offering that appealing, refreshing alternative to the home office,” says Healy.
At the same time, consumer expectations have evolved. Value is no longer defined simply by room rates but by the overall experience. Dining, wellness, family activities and convenience have become essential parts of the hospitality proposition, while booking behaviour has become increasingly spontaneous as guests respond to digital offers, social media content and shorter planning cycles.
These behavioural shifts are influencing both product development and marketing strategy across Accor’s portfolio.
“This dynamic demands incredible agility from us. It means our pricing strategies need to be razor-sharp, and our targeted campaigns across all Accor’s commercial platforms need to be executed with speed and precision to capture that immediate intent. We have to be where they are, when they’re ready to decide,” says Healy.
To further meet evolving consumer expectations, Accor is expanding its resident-focused offerings across brands including Mövenpick, Novotel and Pullman. Staycation packages, extended-stay products, work-from-hotel concepts and lifestyle programming are all designed to encourage more regular engagement with local audiences rather than relying solely on traditional travel demand.
“That’s why we’re strategically bundling F&B, wellness, and dedicated children’s activities into our staycation offers. We’ve moved decisively beyond just selling accommodation. And speaking of families, the demand for truly family-oriented, inclusive experiences is through the roof. Brands like Mövenpick, with that inherently warm and generous hospitality, really hit the mark here. It proves that these holistic, shared experiences are absolutely key,” says Healy.
She adds, “We’re developing curated staycation packages, innovative extended-stay offers, and bespoke lifestyle programming specifically designed for residents seeking regular, accessible escapes.”
Weekend packages that combine accommodation, dining and family-friendly activities have generated strong demand, while flexible long-stay products and hybrid workspaces continue to expand across the group’s portfolio. Together, these offerings reflect a broader repositioning of hotels as multi-purpose lifestyle destinations that can support a range of resident needs throughout the year.
Selling a lifestyle, not a stay
That evolution also requires a different marketing approach.
Rather than promoting hotels exclusively as destinations for travel, communications increasingly focus on how hospitality experiences fit naturally into consumers’ everyday lives. Messaging is becoming more personalised, audience-led and digitally agile, reflecting the growing diversity of resident audiences and the shorter booking windows that now characterise much of the market.
“We’ve pivoted decisively from traditional destination marketing to a vibrant, lifestyle-centric narrative,” says Healy. “Accor is increasingly positioning our hotels as ‘spaces for living’, whether that’s a revitalising weekend escape, a genuinely productive workday, or an unforgettable family celebration. We’ve abandoned generic campaigns. Instead, we meticulously tailor messaging to the precise needs of each distinct segment.”
That shift extends beyond creative messaging. Campaigns are increasingly tailored to specific audience segments, with families, young professionals and wellness-focused consumers all receiving different offers and communications based on their needs and behaviours.
At Accor, Families receive compelling, value-driven bundles, engaging kids’ activities, and timely seasonal offers. Young professionals are engaged through innovative work-from-hotel propositions, dynamic social spaces, and distinctive F&B concepts; wellness-focused guests are reached through bespoke spa packages, fitness programs, and those truly restorative retreat experiences across our resort properties.
Loyalty programmes, CRM and customer data also play a growing role in helping hospitality brands deliver more relevant experiences and strengthen long-term relationships with guests.
At the same time, marketing has become increasingly responsive. With guests booking closer to their travel dates, always-on campaigns, performance marketing and mobile engagement are becoming more important in capturing demand as it emerges rather than relying solely on long-term planning.
For Healy, the emphasis on resident audiences should not be viewed as a temporary adjustment during periods of uncertainty. Instead, it reflects a long-term commercial strategy that complements international tourism while creating a more resilient and diversified demand base.
Healy explains that the role of hotels goes beyond accommodation, with properties increasingly becoming multi-purpose lifestyle destinations.
She adds, “During times of regional uncertainty, I genuinely believe hospitality steps up as an increasingly vital community anchor, and not just that, but a powerful enabler of resilience. It’s about more than just rooms, you see; it’s about being a true partner. It signals a broader, permanent shift: our hotels are no longer solely for international travel; they’re becoming an integral, enriching component of residents’ everyday lifestyles, bolstering local engagement and loyalty.”
For hospitality marketers, the implications extend well beyond occupancy. As hotels become places where residents work, dine, relax and socialise throughout the year, success depends not only on attracting visitors to a destination but on remaining relevant between trips.
For Healy, local demand is no longer a secondary revenue stream but a year-round driver of sustainable growth, requiring hospitality brands to create experiences that fit naturally into residents’ everyday lives.
International travellers will continue to underpin the sector’s growth, but long-term success increasingly depends on building stronger, more frequent relationships with the people who are already there. In that sense, hospitality is moving beyond destination marketing towards relationship marketing, where loyalty is earned through consistent, everyday experiences rather than individual bookings.
