Aleph programme, July to September 2026. Prepared 1 October 2026 for the progress sitting. Every quotation below is copied exactly from a filed transcript or from an email in the mailbox, with its line number or its date. Transcripts are automatic, so names are sometimes misspelt in the quotes; they are left as they appear.
The PDF is not on this page. It is on the Deep Hospitality SharePoint, in the Aleph folder under 08_Admin_Contracts.
Letter from Aleph dated 14 July 2026, signed by Nitin on 24 July 2026. Pages 1 to 4 are the letter. Pages 5 to 11 are Appendix A, our proposal of 2 July, which the letter makes the description of the services.
| What it says | Why it matters on Monday |
|---|---|
Agreement: “They run one at a time.” The agreement, page 7 | Three modules have run side by side since 4 August. |
Agreement: “Two builds running at once is a second lane at the second-lane rate, never quiet pressure on this one.” The agreement, page 9 | The agreement prices a second lane at AED 55,000 a month and three at AED 75,000 (page 11). We have invoiced AED 52,500 a month. |
Agreement: “It is included with our compliments” The agreement, page 10 | The half-day AI session for the leadership team is in the agreement. It has not been held. |
Agreement: “Three one-to-one discovery conversations, thirty minutes each, week of 6 July.” The agreement, page 11 | Listed as a next step. They did not happen; the kickoff on 8 July stood in for them. |
Agreement: “restructured into one tagged, searchable library, tailored by brand tier” The agreement, page 7 | Module 2 in the agreement is the whole library, which is Bani's picture. Jad narrowed it to two hotels on 6 July. |
Agreement: “with SharePoint as the natural home; on any other platform we interface with an external service provider and that cost is passed through to Aleph” The agreement, page 7 | The agreement assumed Microsoft. Aleph chose to stay on Google on 2 September, so an outside builder at Aleph's cost is what the agreement provides. |
Agreement: “One page, agreed in minutes before the build starts” The agreement, page 9 | Our own promise on charters. See the lessons for us. |
Agreement: “monthly steering one-pager to the three of you. Five minutes of reading” The agreement, page 9 | Our own promise on reporting. See the lessons for us. |
Agreement: “initial term of three (3) months and shall continue thereafter on a rolling monthly basis” The agreement, page 2 | The initial term ran from 3 July and ended on 3 October. From now either side can end it on 30 days' written notice (page 3). |
Agreement: “invoiced monthly in arrears” The agreement, page 2 | Payable within 30 days of a valid invoice. |
Agreement: “including configured bots, prompts, restructured SOP content and drafted agreements, shall vest in and belong to the Company” The agreement, page 2 | Clause 8.1. What we configure for Aleph is Aleph's. Clause 8.2 keeps our method and know-how with us. |
Check before Monday. The copy on file carries your signature dated 24 July. The line for Bani Haddad on page 4 is blank. If a copy signed by Aleph exists, it is not in the folder.
Counted to the sitting on 5 October where still open.
| What we asked for | Asked | Answered | Days | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The choice of template | 7 Aug, email | Open | 59 | Solid |
| A named person to run the standards engine | 21 Jul on a call; 6 Aug in writing | 2 Sep | 27 | Solid |
| The Claude licence | 6 Aug, email | Approved 6 Sep; first training 29 Sep | 54 | Use with care |
| A dedicated sitting on the Business Review | Agreed 2 Sep | 5 Oct, still to confirm | 33 | Solid |
| A sponsor for the intranet | 4 Aug, charter | 2 Sep | 29 | Solid |
| One trial balance | 5 Aug, email | Open | 61 | Weak |
| Yes to the BIRD trial, and the Fairmas questions | 23 Sep, email | Open | 12 | Use with care |
| Whether the portfolio work should be scoped | 6 Aug, email | Open | 60 | Solid |
| July invoice | Due 23 Aug | Paid 16 Sep | 24 | Solid |
Click a line to open it. Green quotes are from recordings. Dark quotes are from emails. Amber quotes are from the agreement.
We chased on 10 August, 18 August and 23 September. No choice has come back.
The September owner review cannot go out in the new format. Jad had told owners to expect it by the end of September. Our 7 August plan was a trial run in September and live in October; both depended on the choice.
The three templates have been with the team since 7 August. On 3 September Neil asked for one format for everyone. We need that one choice today, and the owners get it for the next cycle.
Seats were bought by 22 September. First training was 29 September.
27 days from the written ask to a name, and 54 days to the first training. The owner date of end November was set by Aleph, not by us:
We asked for a name and a licence on 6 August. The name came on 2 September and the first training was 29 September. That is seven weeks of the runway to November. Since then Fiona and Annette have moved fast.
Bani replied on 7 August that they would discuss internally and come back in a couple of days. Nothing came back on the portfolio question.
The three principals have held different pictures of this module since July. The agreement describes the whole library:
The two hotels were the urgent ask in July and that is what the charter says. On 6 August we offered to scope the wider portfolio as its own piece of work. We are ready to do that now.
On 2 September the hour ran out before the Business Review. Bani's ruling in the room:
It was not scheduled. On 24 September Neil asked for an in-person update. Zhaira's first slot for all three was 5 October.
33 days in which the template choice, the trial and the Fairmas question had no room to be decided.
On 2 September we agreed the Business Review needed its own sitting. This is that sitting. Three decisions have been waiting for it.
None of the five asks of 23 September has been answered. The Fairmas cost and contract were asked again on 1 October.
The automated review and the alerts Bani asked for both need the data in one place. Until Aleph decides how Fairmas and BIRD sit together, neither can be built.
We are not asking you to replace Fairmas. We proposed keeping it and adding one view above it, and Rudolf has offered the trial free. We need a yes or a no, and two numbers from finance.
These were not advice ignored. They are why the date moved, and each is on tape.
Two months on the Business Review. Owner conversations alone ran from 17 July to 31 August, because the introductions needed Bani's own chase on 7 August.
The brief in July was to cut the time. Since then it has become better content, owner input, marketing, one format and action plans. Each was the right call, and each added weeks.
Our charter of 4 August named Jad as the expected sponsor, to be confirmed. We asked again in the room on 2 September.
29 days without a sponsor. The module started from nothing in September, with a supplier already paid a deposit and no usable build.
The intranet got its sponsor on 2 September. Neil told us the next day the earlier build could not be used. Since then we have the scope written and HR's needs in it. Today we need the route.
Neither session has been held.
On 3 September Neil said the three of them left the 2 September meeting confused about what had been achieved. A shared session at the start would have given them the picture.
The agreement includes half a day together, at no charge, so everyone can see how this works. We have not held it. I would like to book it today, on your own numbers.
Not supplied. Still shown as pending on the data register.
Without it we can check that the numbers in a pack agree with each other, but not that they are right.
Only if asked what is missing: one trial balance, asked for on 5 August.
Three modules have been live since 4 August. The agreement prices one lane at AED 35,000 a month, two at AED 55,000 and three at AED 75,000. We have invoiced AED 52,500 a month. The July invoice was due 23 August and paid 16 September. The August invoice was due 25 September and is unpaid.
24 days late on the first invoice; 10 days and counting on the second.
Only if the fee is questioned: the agreement is one module at a time, with a second lane at AED 55,000 and a third at AED 75,000. We have run three since August and invoiced AED 52,500.
You said the second and third of the seat and operator claims to Aline and Estelle on 1 October:
If it is repeated to Bani, he may ask for the evidence. It is better corrected first.
It goes both ways. These are ours, with the evidence, so nothing in the room is a surprise.
By 3 September the programme dashboard ran to about 13,900 words and there were 27 hosted pages. Neil warned us on 8 July. The short board in Aleph's own look went up on 3 September, 57 days later. That gap is ours.
What worked once we changed:
Praise from the principals on tape is thin. The pivot was right, but do not claim they were complimentary beyond these two lines.
What the agreement promised, in our own words:
What we built instead: three charters, two data registers, a decision record, a five-stage method on a dashboard, 30 hosted pages. The light method was already written down. We did not follow it.
What we did not get:
If Bani asks who signed it, the answer is nobody on his side. Do not lean on that line.
Did we jump the gun? In three places. We began on 3 July and the agreement was signed on 24 July. We took the scope of the standards work from one principal. We ran three modules against an agreement written for one at a time. Moving fast was right for this client. What was missing was small: one page of scope that all three had said yes to, one owner per module, and half an hour a month with the decisions listed beforehand.
In fairness to them: they open hotels, they travel, and this is not their day job. A method that costs them hours will be skipped. It has to cost them minutes.
Owner conversations, marketing slides, one format, action plans, the portfolio: each was welcomed and none came with a date. See items 3, 6 and 10.
The best answer is Aleph's own, in writing, from the person who runs the engine:
And what Aleph people have said about the work:
What exists today that did not on 1 July: six General Manager conversations and two owner conversations on record; the monthly review mapped; three templates on a real month; a standards engine in Aleph's hands and in daily use; a written scope for the intranet with HR's needs in it; a free trial on offer for one view across the systems.