New Tourism & Hospitality Incubator KUBE Ventures Launches in UAE

Two of the world’s foremost entrepreneurs in the hospitality industry, hotelier Michael Levie and hospitality branding expert David Keen, have come together to launch KUBE Venture, a brand new hospitality and tourism-focussed incubator for UAE-based startups and businesses.

Unveiling their new initiative at Dubai’s Arabian & African Hospitality Investment Conference (AHIC), the pair announced that KUBE Ventures seeks to transform and incubate accelerating hospitality start-ups making fundamental changes in the industry.

The KUBE vision will create and partner with value-driven startups in the UAE which aim to collectively reimagine global hospitality. Two crucial entities, KUBE Circle and KUBE Conscience, will power the initiative, with the former bringing together leaders, veterans and visionaries in the hospitality industry in a club-like concept to create a global think tank for knowledge sharing, education and networking. Meanwhile, KUBE Conscience is an appointed board assigned with the task of measuring the values and potential of each entity interested in joining the incubator.

In light of the pandemic, KUBE Ventures hopes to overcome hospitality’s greatest challenges by foreseeing new entities that dare to innovate. “We want to give back to the hospitality industry. All of our shareholders have united with a crystal-clear purpose. We want to catalyse transformation: be it in technology, operations or human resources,” said founder Michael Levie in a statement.

Investment in tech startups aiding in the contactless delivery of food and other services has increased dramatically since the global pandemic caused restaurants and other sectors of the hospitality industry to alter their operations in March of last year. Echoing this, Keen added: “The moment is now. The post-pandemic era is one of extraordinary opportunity. Our purpose is to realise our industry’s potential and to bring it up to par with the world’s most dynamic industries and organisations”.

Michael Levie brings forward experience from his role as Vice-President of Operations for Sonesta Hotels and NH Hoteles. Meanwhile, David Keen is the founder of QUO, the world’s leading hospitality branding agency.