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Hotels have largely been dismissive of any threats to their core business model over the past five years. But by 2020, the exponential growth of various online platforms will have forced them to change and innovate. The good news is that traditional hotels have numerous options at their disposal: rethinking the experience they offer, unbundling pricing, setting up new partnerships and more.

The gender agenda and the benefits of having a diverse board and workplace has long been studied, yet we still see no significant change.

In 2017, leadership teams are grappling with new conditions of global risk. With few predicting the happenings of recent years, businesses around the world are striving to prepare for the further possibility of inconceivable events.

This alert follows on from the update in December 2015 and is intended to provide a brief synopsis of impending Value Added Tax (VAT) which has been confirmed at 5 per cent from 1 Jan 2018.

Drawing on data and insight from the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, this report considers the outlook for the global economy in 2016 and explores UAE trends for 2016.

Almost 20 years since the dot-com era, the Nasdaq is reaching levels last seen during the previous boom. At the same time, we are witnessing business model changes driven by architectural transformations which could disrupt the global technology and media industry.

As consumers use online intermediaries to find the most economical rooms in a convenient location for their trip, hotels face a future in which the strength of their brand has dwindling influence over customer choice. But the hotels that can get branding right in a digital era face a clear opportunity to grow market share.

More and more fiscal authorities continue to develop their transfer pricing laws. The principles are common, although interpretations differ from one tax authority to another.

IFRS News is your quarterly update on all things relating to International Financial Reporting Standards. We’ll bring you up to speed on topical issues, provide comment and points of view and give you a summary of any significant developments.

At the end of November 2013, Dubai was chosen to be the host city of the World Expo 2020. Dubai is the first Middle Eastern city to host an Expo. Official comments from the governments of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and almost all coverage in the mainstream media has been overwhelmingly positive. However, one of the most important questions can only be answered with research that is proprietary, original and systematic. It is: what do the people who live and work in the UAE really think about Dubai Expo 2020? Drawing on data and research from Insight Discovery, this report looks at the themes and trends arising as a result of the win.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a rapidly developing economy with an approximate population of 8 million. Its GDP was estimated at US$390bn in 2013, making it the 29th largest economy in the world and the second largest in the Middle East. Its GDP per capita is approximately US$43,000, the 19th highest globally. Drawing on data and insight from the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), this short report considers the outlook for the economy, including the expectations of 200 business leaders interviewed in the UAE and more than 12,500 globally, over the past 12 months.

Hotels are assessing how they can use digital technologies and data analytics to deliver memorable guest experiences. As 2020 approaches, they will need to make digital a part of everything they do – from marketing and distribution to in-room entertainment. But most hotels don’t have the talent, technology or organisational structures to achieve this, especially in the UAE where a lack of skilled workforce has persistently been cited by business leaders as a constraint on growth.

In light of growing international interest and scrutiny of corporate practices we set out to explore how three major aspects of governance – the role of culture, board composition and strategic planning – are affecting businesses around the world.

There are a number of cost and commercial reasons why a group may consider relocating, but it is also important to understand the consequences.

Companies are increasingly focused on high-quality strategic transactions, with less time spent on investigating peripheral opportunities, according to our International Business Report (IBR), a survey of 5,400+ business leaders in 35 economies.

With the Expo 2020 set to add $24 billion to the UAE economy and create innumerable opportunities due to the increased demand in various sectors namely leisure and tourism (with an estimated 25 million visitors expected to arrive), the need for hoteliers to change and implement emerging technology has never been needed more so than now.