Hodema participated for the first time in Hospex the International Exhibition for Hospitality and Hotel Equipment in Syria. The exhibition took place in Damascus Fairs Ground from March 15 until March 18 2010 and gathered over 90 participants from Thailand Turkey Tunisia Jordan Lebanon UAE and Syria representing more than 400 international and local brand names.

For the first time Cityscape held a KSA – specific event in Jeddah proving once again that the Kingdom is emerging as one of those countries that have been least affected by the international crisis and firmly placing the spotlight on one of the world’s most exciting emerging real estate markets: Jeddah. Hodema having participated as a visitor this year is already preparing its participation as an exhibitor during Cityscape Arabia 2010.

Hodema participated in the first Entrepreneurs Forum on May 21st and 22nd in Biel’s “Pavillon Royal” among 50 exhibitors and leading businesses offering a comprehensive range of services.

Hodema was a gold sponsor at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) in Dubai on May 2nd 3rd and 4th 2009. This prestigious conference gathers international industry leaders and key regional hospitality industry players. Mr. Karim el Asmar one of Hodema’s managing partners moderated the panel “Pipeline promises” which hosted lively discussions of the situation regarding the regional pipeline in the context of the international financial crisis. Among the participants were architects consultants and international and regional hotel operators.

For the fourth consecutive year Hodema participated in HORECA the annual hospitality and food exhibition that took place at Biel from April 27 until April 30 2009.

Hodema participated in a workshop on the creation of an Arab Tourism Bank by presenting the trends in financing and development of projects in the Arab countries in April 2009 during the Arab Tourism Organization conference in Damascus.

Targeting the representatives of well-established F&B companies key public figures and the media the Teleferique food court project launching took place on March 11 2009. Mr. Joe Boulos Chairman of the Board of Directors announced that the Téléférique management has decided that it is time to give the infrastructure a ‘facelift’ while stressing on the increasing number of passengers. Mr. Nagi Morkos Managing Partner of Hodema described the new Food Court which will include a Lebanese restaurant and Children Playground projects. The conference was followed by a Q&A a cocktail and a guided tour of the premises.

Karim el Asmar held a conference in January 2009 at IMHI Business School in Paris France in the scope of the “Leaders in the industry” conferences cycle about the “Industry trends” in the Middle East for the year 2009.

For the third consecutive year hodema was actively involved in Horeca the annual hospitality and food event in the Middle East region. The exhibition took place at Biel from June 24 until June 30 2008 and featured numerous F&B brands as well as products such as equipments related to F&B. It also presented various services among

Hodema carried out a two-days training organized by APAVE Liban on the subject of Operating Manuals in the Food Industry. The sessions were held at Hazmieh Rotana Hotel on March 6th and 7th 2008 in presence of representatives from major food and catering companies and restaurants academic institutions and hospitals. For the purpose of the seminar Hodema developed a new methodology for the elaboration of Operating Manuals in the food industry. The presentation was performed by Karim el Asmar one of Hodema’s partners and included interactive workshops and case studies.

During the executive housekeepers meeting held in Dubai Hodema conducted a seminar in finance for non financial managers at the newly opened Rotana Burjuman. The seminar was attended by the group housekeepers gathered from the entire MENA region as well as the corporate vice president housekeeping.