Dubai hotels to get new ratings system
A revised ratings system that will reflect enhanced international standards is to be announced soon for Dubai hotels as the booming hospitality sector gears up to attract as many as 10 million tourists by 2010.
Khalid bin Sulayem, Director-General Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said the current ratings system had been under review for some time and now was time for a change as the number of hotels and hotel apartments in Dubai is set to rise to 488 in the next two years compared to 452 in 2007.
Dubai's hotel rooms will climb to 64,179 in 2010 from 51,168 last year. According to industry experts, the number of hotel rooms is expected to increase by 32.7 per cent annually until 2011.
Sulayem said Dubai's buoyant hospitality sector, which has been recording spectacular growth over the past several years, can sustain the extra capacity. The upcoming mega projects including The Atlantis at the Palm would add an extra 2,000 rooms by the end of 2008, he said.
The new hotel rating system, which will replace the classification system introduced 1998, is expected to be in force soon, and will reflect international standards in terms of service and facilities. It will encompass several areas of hotel operations, including new medical and disability access requirements, and applying standards to a property's conference and banqueting, spa and leisure, and business centre facilities.
Informed industry sources said international classification systems were studied in the creation of the new system. Hotels will be classified as either leisure, city/business or ‘other' properties, with separate sub-sectors covering niche accommodation products such as theme park hotels, boutique hotels, budget hotels, wellness and spa hotels and heritage hotels. Also, hotel apartments will be classified as either leisure or city/business apartments. Under the changes, existing hotel criteria could be upgraded to meet new minimum standards. Sulayem, speaking at the launch of the Hotel Show, which opened yesterday at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre, said DTCM has been holding consultation meeting across all sectors from developers to hotel management companies. "With new projects coming on stream all of the time we feel there is time for a review."
Dismissing suggestions that room rates prevailing in Dubai are relatively higher, he said Dubai hotels offer higher quality and service levels compared with other destinations. He also welcomed the entrance of budget hotels into the market as they have a place in the overall portfolio of properties in Dubai on offer to the traveller. Overall, he said, the market remains robust, exemplified by the products and services on offer at the show.
According to the World Tourism Organisation international travel to the Middle East will grow at a significantly faster rate than other competing global destinations. In the year 2020, Middle Eastern destinations will receive 68.5 million arrivals (compared to 46.4 million in 2007), representing a growth rate of 7.1 per cent over the period 1995-2019. The global average for the same year is expected to be 4.1 per cent.
According to Hospitality consultancy HVS International approximately 253 hotels will be entering the regional market in the next fours years, adding an additional 120,000 guestrooms to current supply — not including the massive but unconfirmed 'Dubailand' project in the UAE.
“The UAE accounts for nearly 75 per cent of the new supply, followed by Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Approximately 25,000 rooms are set to enter the Dubai market in 2008, 20,000 in 2009, 25,000 in 2010 and 20,000 in 2011.
A recent study confirmed the Middle Eastern region’s position as the current world’s top performer in average rate and occupancy.
The study, compiled by analysts at Deloitte, reveal a chart-topping average rate of $18, and an overall occupancy of 74.3 per cent.
Absolute RevPAR (revenue per available room) in the region for first quarter grew 19 per cent year over year.
“With the strongest occupancy and average room rates in the world, hotel performance in the Middle East is off to a very good start in 2008. If the rest of 2008 follows the pattern already set for the first quarter, hoteliers could enjoy a remarkable five-year run of double-digit growth,” analysts said.
/Khaleej Times/
Khalid bin Sulayem, Director-General Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said the current ratings system had been under review for some time and now was time for a change as the number of hotels and hotel apartments in Dubai is set to rise to 488 in the next two years compared to 452 in 2007.
Dubai's hotel rooms will climb to 64,179 in 2010 from 51,168 last year. According to industry experts, the number of hotel rooms is expected to increase by 32.7 per cent annually until 2011.
Sulayem said Dubai's buoyant hospitality sector, which has been recording spectacular growth over the past several years, can sustain the extra capacity. The upcoming mega projects including The Atlantis at the Palm would add an extra 2,000 rooms by the end of 2008, he said.
The new hotel rating system, which will replace the classification system introduced 1998, is expected to be in force soon, and will reflect international standards in terms of service and facilities. It will encompass several areas of hotel operations, including new medical and disability access requirements, and applying standards to a property's conference and banqueting, spa and leisure, and business centre facilities.
Informed industry sources said international classification systems were studied in the creation of the new system. Hotels will be classified as either leisure, city/business or ‘other' properties, with separate sub-sectors covering niche accommodation products such as theme park hotels, boutique hotels, budget hotels, wellness and spa hotels and heritage hotels. Also, hotel apartments will be classified as either leisure or city/business apartments. Under the changes, existing hotel criteria could be upgraded to meet new minimum standards. Sulayem, speaking at the launch of the Hotel Show, which opened yesterday at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre, said DTCM has been holding consultation meeting across all sectors from developers to hotel management companies. "With new projects coming on stream all of the time we feel there is time for a review."
Dismissing suggestions that room rates prevailing in Dubai are relatively higher, he said Dubai hotels offer higher quality and service levels compared with other destinations. He also welcomed the entrance of budget hotels into the market as they have a place in the overall portfolio of properties in Dubai on offer to the traveller. Overall, he said, the market remains robust, exemplified by the products and services on offer at the show.
According to the World Tourism Organisation international travel to the Middle East will grow at a significantly faster rate than other competing global destinations. In the year 2020, Middle Eastern destinations will receive 68.5 million arrivals (compared to 46.4 million in 2007), representing a growth rate of 7.1 per cent over the period 1995-2019. The global average for the same year is expected to be 4.1 per cent.
According to Hospitality consultancy HVS International approximately 253 hotels will be entering the regional market in the next fours years, adding an additional 120,000 guestrooms to current supply — not including the massive but unconfirmed 'Dubailand' project in the UAE.
“The UAE accounts for nearly 75 per cent of the new supply, followed by Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Approximately 25,000 rooms are set to enter the Dubai market in 2008, 20,000 in 2009, 25,000 in 2010 and 20,000 in 2011.
A recent study confirmed the Middle Eastern region’s position as the current world’s top performer in average rate and occupancy.
The study, compiled by analysts at Deloitte, reveal a chart-topping average rate of $18, and an overall occupancy of 74.3 per cent.
Absolute RevPAR (revenue per available room) in the region for first quarter grew 19 per cent year over year.
“With the strongest occupancy and average room rates in the world, hotel performance in the Middle East is off to a very good start in 2008. If the rest of 2008 follows the pattern already set for the first quarter, hoteliers could enjoy a remarkable five-year run of double-digit growth,” analysts said.
/Khaleej Times/
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