The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News | Podcast Guru

Recent Episodes

British heart, Asian soul

It's taken Langham Hotels & Resorts, part of Langham Hospitality Group, more than 160 years to develop its second hotel in Europe. That property is coming to Venice, but the company is also opening a hotel in Saudi Arabia soon. Josh Littman, Langham's head of development, for Europe, Middle East and Africa, joins the podcast and shares how the richness of the Langham brand and its several distinct strands of DNA will lead to more development activity.

43 MIN

Middle East conflict leads to 93% uptick in UAE guests in Ras Al Khaimah (with Marjan's Alison Grinnell)

Alison Grinnell, Marjan's group chief operating officer and CEO of Marjan Hospitality, joins the Upgrade to discuss plans for tourism growth in Ras Al Khaimah and Marjan Beach.

33 MIN

David Damiba, Kasada Capital Management, on African hotels' leap in sophistication

Kasada Capital Management’s managing director and co-CEO David Damiba joined "The Upgrade" podcast to talk about sophisticated debt, operations, alignment and timelines in the African hotel industry.

35 MIN

Sirius Hotel Group emerges from Resident Hotels to help portfolio expansion

Matt Lederer, director of acquisitions at The Sirius Hotel Group, joins the podcast this month to discuss his company's partnership, and his history with, Marriott International.

36 MIN

Manesh Balani, Orsini SPI, on procurement, logistics and maintaining calm out of Dubai

Manesh Balani, managing director of Dubai-based procurement firm Orsini SPI, joined “The Upgrade: EMEA Hospitality News” podcast to discuss how the U.S.-Iran war forced his company to adapt its strategy for meeting the supply needs of its hotel clients in the region.

35 MIN