Hotels in Abu Dhabi record best first-half

Hotel performance for the first half of the year has been recorded as Abu Dhabi's best on record, according to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA). According to ADTA's data, year-to-date hotel guests were up 11 per cent to just over one million, while guest nights were up 26 per cent to over three million and occupancy rose 10 per cent to 70 per cent. Meanwhile, revenue climbed six per cent to Dh2.26 billion. But hoteliers say that while 2011 has been a good year, it has not been the best. "As far as occupancy is concerned, we've had a good year, but room rates are quite down," said Kamal Fakhouri, Chief Operating Officer at Cristal Hotel Abu Dhabi. Paul Simmons, Director of Sales at Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi, told Gulf News that in terms of occupancy, business has been "very good and steady." Article continues below "It's really the average rate that's taken a bit of a drop," he said, adding that this was due to the amount of competition in the city. Room rates At Millennium, occupancy rates have been at 70 per cent and are expected to stay at this level until the rest of the year, Simmons said. Room rates have had an average drop of 15 per cent this year compared to last year and is expected to drop further as new properties come on the market. "At what percentage [it will drop in the future] is yet to be determined," Fakhouri said. Fakhouri said their rates this year had dropped 10 per cent compared to last year. "We're still predicting a good year end and would finish close to 85 per cent occupancy rate, which is quite nice, but it's the room rates that have seen a drop," he added. Abu Dhabi currently has over 20,000 rooms, but new hotels due to come online in the emirate by the end of the year are expected to add 4,000 extra rooms to the market. To maintain their business existing hotels will be under pressure to compete with the new hotels, which is why the rates are already falling. According to Simmons, 2012 will see a slight dip compared to this year. "It won't be as tough as this year. I don't think we will see the impact we've already seen this year," he said. "Although there are going to be new hotels in the market, they're not going to hit the ground running with full occupancies," he said. Competition could also make some hotels offer the less expensive room rates. "I really think location is going to be important. Service is going to be important," he said. Speaking of the new offerings on Saadiyat Island, Simmons said they would bring the city in line with other destinations for beach holidays. "What Abu Dhabi lacks is true leisure products with proper beaches. We don't have the best facilities for leisure, but Saadiyat will have that," he said. "It's going to be something very different." The UK remains the emirate's largest hotel guest source market accounting for over 72,000 guests, according to the ADTA. That's a 20 per cent increase, compared to the first half of 2010. Abu Dhabi's target is to attract two million guests by the end of the year. Opening soon Westin Hotel & Spa, Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa by Anantara; Hyatt Capital Gate, Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Rocco Forte Hotel Abu Dhabi, St. Regis Saadiyat Resort and Residences, Saadiyat Island, the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers and the Ritz Carlton Grand Canal Abu Dhabi.