UAE Hotels See 90% Occupancy For Eid Al Fitr 2023, Driving Up Room Rates

Ahead of Eid Al Fitr 2023, around 90% of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) hotels have been pre-booked by the residents and tourists to enjoy the holiday season. In the key locations, hotel room rates range from 2,000 to 7,000 Dirhams for a couple of nights. 

As per the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR), the 4-day-long holidays will span from April 20 to April 23, which is from the 29th day of Ramadan to the 3rd day of Shawwal. According to various sources, the major UAE tourist spots including Downtown Dubai, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, and the hotels on Palm Jumeirah, are expected to be filled with holiday enthusiasts.

UAE Hotels will eventually get to see a mix of international and GCC arrivals as well as UAE natives in April 

The report also claims that the economy of the UAE would be tremendously boosted since this year’s usual holiday season  (which is the month of April) is getting merged with the festive season. But more than the tourists, the hotel authorities are expecting more bookings from the Arabs who are looking forward to celebrating their Eid in luxury. 

In the wake of the coinciding of both the festive season and the holiday season, average daily rates for UAE-based hotels have increased by at least 45% in April. Regardless of the price surge, nearly 95 to 100 percent of the hotels have already been pre-occupied and the hoteliers are forecasting a mix of international and GCC arrivals as well as the UAE natives.

Compared to February to March 2023, April has already marked the most number of pre-booking and moreover, the occupancy rates are also relatively higher than those of the years 2021 and 2022.

Robert El Khoury, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at JA Hotels, later stated that their occupancy rates had already crossed 80 percent prior to the celebration of Eid Al Fitr.  On top of that, they are being approached by other residents who are seeking a staycation break.

According to El Khoury, if the profit history of JA Hotels is something to go by, then a 10% increase in the occupancy rate can already be noted in comparison to the past few years. He further connected the growth to the increased demand for Dubai properties this month. For the coming weekend, which is also the Eid weekend, the JA Hotel’s cheapest room will proceed at Dh933. 

Not only El Khoury but the Cluster Director of Revenue for The Palm Dubai Resort, Elena Blinova, who is also a Cluster Director for the NH Collection Dubai, and the Anantara World Island Dubai has been vocal about the current growth in the occupancy rates. According to Blinova, their hotels have already been pre-booked to the maximum of 70 percent and they are quite confident about it being completely booked in the next few days. At the present time, a standard room at the Palm Dubai is available for Dh4,523 (without including the taxes). 

In connection with the remarks made by Blinoiva, the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hotel for Palm Jumeirah, Vanessa Baumann said since Eid is expected to fall in the same month as the usual holiday, their hotels will get to receive a mix of local and international guests this month. He further highlighted that often “demand drives the rates.” During the Eid weekends, their hotel rooms are priced at Dh7,920. 

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Even hotels and resorts like the Sharjah Collection by Mysk, which is a property with experiential tourism, are expecting 70% of occupancy rates. Shafik Alaaeddine, the General Manager of the Sharjah Collection described the booking pace as “positive,” healthy”, and “steady.” He also added that they are expecting a total occupancy rate of at least 85%. 

Although many hoteliers have heightened their rates, some of them have chosen to retain their old prices to keep them affordable. That being said, some of them are also offering special packages to draw the attention of tourists. Moreover, hotels like The Ritz- Carlton, Dubai have stepped ahead with a 25% Eid Al Fitr discount. The discount is also due to the 25th anniversary of the property. 

Although nearly 90 percent of the bookings have already been reported by several hoteliers, they are still looking for last-minute bookings as many of them said that most of the bookings made so far in the history of their respective hotels were made within a short time of three to seven days prior to the staycation.