A notable discount was visible in rates offered by hotels in Dubai to greet the Dubai Shopping Festival. DTMC has called for plans to introduce a special rates ranging from 40 to 60 per cent discount on room rates. This discount is in addition to a 25% discount in the prices of F&B in these hotels. This reduction will be mobile from January 10 until mid-February to cater the staying needs of tons of visitors expected to visit Dubai for the shopping festival. During the last quarter of 2008, Dubai hotels revealed the bad shape of its bookings following global economic turmoil and few of them did not wait till mid January 2009 to announce the special offers.
Khaleej Times a leading daily of UAE reported that Hamra Hotels & Resorts offered its exclusive corporate room rates at a discounted 40 to 60 per cent now for all room types, from as low as Dh450 to a high of Dh1,900 for single and between Dh450 and Dh1,900 for double. The original room rates were between Dh1, 700 and Dh3, 000 per night for single and the price range was between Dh1,900 and Dh2,900 for double rooms.
Some other popular hotels offering discounts are:
Al Hamra Village Golf Resort: Single room (Dh 250 up to Dh1,200 per night)
Double room (Dh300 up to Dh1,250 per night)
Khatt Springs Hotel and Spa: Single room (Dh350 and Dh900 per night)
Double room (Dh400 and Dh950 per night)
Hilton Hotels have announced 50 per cent discount for weekend breaks until the end of August 2009, for bookings made up to January 31, 2009. This offer is valid for 220 Hilton, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Doubletree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn Hotels across 45 countries.
Several other Dubai hotels like the Coral Group of Hotels (Coral Deira, Dubai, Coral Boutique Villas, Al Barsha, Coral Boutique Hotel Apartments, Al Barsha) and Radissions SAS also have announced price slash as DSF progresses.
In view of the current development in the hospitality industry many of the hotel property developers have showed signs of holding new projects in Dubai and other surrounding emirates like Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Hotel occupancy in Dubai has reported a fall by 14% in the third quarter compared to the occupancy rates in 2007. The occupancy rate for hotel beds dropped to 75.2% from 83.1% a year earlier, while the number of guests-nights in hotels fell 3.5%. Anticipating that a competitive demand will cause scarcity of rooms, new projects were launched in 2006 an 2007 leading to the growth of number of available hotel rooms by 13.3% and the number of beds 9.9%. Some property developers have not yet stepped back and they believe that this crisis is a temporary crunch and they still hold a positive thought regarding the forecast. Michael Frances, Marketing and Communication Manager, Dusit Dubai, expressed positive remarks about business picking up with the start of the New Year.
According to Niel Rumbaoa, Director Communication, Shangri-La, Hotel Dubai, they have not yet finalised the DSF promotional rates. But Shangri-La, Hotel Dubai already running various promotions this season.” The Address Hotels and Resorts, which is a premium hotel brand of Emaar Hospitality Group plans to expand its portfolio by adding around 15 hotels by 2011. According to CEO Marc Dardennes only some of the hotels would be owned by the group, branded as The Address, while other hotels would only be managed by the Emmar Group.
All major Dubai Hotels including five star hotels in Dubai and also cheap hotels in Dubai have introduced seasonal offers in view of the shopping festival. A list of these hotels can be obtained from http://www.hotelsdubaionline.com
