FIRSTLINE, a new hospitality technology platform designed to turn guest influence into measurable business growth, has officially launched in Dubai, introducing a performance based model created specifically for high end restaurants and hospitality venues.
Launching first in the UAE, FIRSTLINE enters the market with a clear purpose to support the hospitality industry with a smarter, more accountable model for growth. Built at the intersection of technology, business intelligence and modern consumer behaviour, the platform enables venues to unlock measurable revenue through customer engagement, social influence and loyalty mechanics that are directly tied to performance.
As customer acquisition costs rise and traditional influencer marketing becomes increasingly inefficient and difficult to measure, restaurants are actively seeking more accountable and performance driven alternatives. FIRSTLINE responds to this shift by offering a model where marketing, loyalty and revenue are directly connected.
Positioned as a next generation loyalty and visibility layer, FIRSTLINE sits seamlessly on top of a venue’s existing ecosystem, connecting guests, their networks and venues into a closed loop ecosystem where value circulates continuously, from spend to rewards to repeat visits, without leaking outside the network. Unlike traditional marketing or loyalty tools, FIRSTLINE does not introduce additional cost layers. Loyalty is funded through existing revenue allocation, and when redeemed, is processed back as revenue within the venue, creating a self sustaining economic loop.
A key component of the platform’s architecture is its integration with SevenRooms, the leading reservation and guest experience platform used by many of the world’s most premium hospitality brands. By integrating directly with SevenRooms, FIRSTLINE connects seamlessly into a venue’s existing operational stack, allowing restaurants to activate the platform without disrupting reservations, guest data or day to day service operations. This ensures a frictionless experience for both operators and guests while enabling accurate tracking of visits, spending and rewards.
Backed by Freedom International Group, an Austrian company with USD 2.5 billion in assets under management and a focus on pharmaceutical, technology, hospitality and financial services, FIRSTLINE enters the market with strong foundations and a clear ambition to support the UAE’s evolving hospitality landscape. Developed by the Sessia IT development team, the platform combines advanced technology with a commercially driven approach built specifically for modern hospitality.
Built with operators, for operators, FIRSTLINE has been designed to solve real commercial challenges facing restaurants today. Rather than asking venues to commit to fixed marketing budgets or absorb additional operational complexity, the platform offers a fully managed, plug and play model where venues invest only when real visits and spend are generated. Implementation is handled entirely by the FIRSTLINE team, creating zero operational burden for venue staff while providing real time tracking, automated rewards and full visibility through a dedicated CRM dashboard.
Importantly, FIRSTLINE is also backing this rollout with significant investment. Freedom International Group has committed up to $10 million to support the platform’s expansion and partner venues through launch activations, premium content production, ambassador programmes and sustained marketing initiatives designed to generate measurable traffic, visibility and guest acquisition.
The platform introduces two core reward mechanisms, VIP Credits and Royalties. Guests earn VIP Credits based on their spend, encouraging repeat visits, while Royalties reward the social influence between diners, turning word of mouth into a structured and trackable acquisition channel. Every visit, referral and reward is attributed through the platform, giving operators clear insight into how guest behaviour translates into measurable business results.
Speaking about the launch, Narek Sirakanyan, CEO of Freedom International Group, said: “Hospitality today is no longer just about attracting guests, it is about understanding and amplifying the behaviour that already exists within your clientele. With FIRSTLINE, we are turning private influence into a structured and measurable growth channel, while giving venues full control over how they invest and scale. What makes this especially powerful is that we are not entering the market as a passive platform. We are backing operators with significant investment across launch support, high impact activations, premium content and sustained visibility initiatives designed to create real traction, real demand and real commercial momentum. Dubai is the ideal market for this, where dining and social connection are deeply intertwined.”
As part of its rollout in Dubai, FIRSTLINE is targeting a curated group of approximately 20 to 25 of the city’s most premium hospitality venues, building a network defined by quality, positioning and guest profile rather than scale alone. Of these, five are anticipated to come from Sunset Hospitality Group, reinforcing the platform’s early traction and the confidence it is already generating among established hospitality operators. Bâoli is the first restaurant to be onboarded onto the platform, marking the beginning of a wider expansion across the city’s premium dining landscape.
Scott Messiah, Director of Operations, Sunset Hospitality Group, added: “FIRSTLINE is built with operators, for operators. It has been designed to integrate seamlessly into the existing rhythm of a venue while creating a more efficient and sustainable path to growth. From repeat visits to increased spend and stronger guest relationships, it gives restaurants a practical model that works commercially and operationally.”
With its launch in Dubai, FIRSTLINE is building a curated network of high calibre hospitality partners, selected with intention based on positioning, clientele and experience. Rather than pursuing scale at any cost, the platform is focused on creating a premium ecosystem where the right venues, the right audiences and the right growth mechanics come together in a way that is commercially meaningful and brand enhancing.
As the UAE continues to set the pace for global hospitality, FIRSTLINE positions itself as a modern growth engine for restaurants seeking stronger performance, deeper guest relationships and long term relevance in one of the world’s most dynamic dining markets.
