In Pictures: Dubai’s hotels get busy with post-Expo deals ahead of Eid holidays

After six months of high occupancy, hotels in Dubai will soon start adjusting to the post-Expo phase. Booking trends for April show a dip after a strong March showing. (The Expo closes on March 31.)

According to industry sources, hotels are currently running at 80 per cent occupancy. To counter the post-Expo dip, hotels will soon offer some generous promotions and incentives to bump up demand ahead of peak summer.

Stays at the city’s five-star hotels for April currently show an indicative rate of Dh600-Dh800 a night, while branded four-star hotels charge Dh400 and over. Three-star properties can be had at Dh250-Dh300 per night.

Booking websites, on the other hand, have different prices based on the location of the hotel. On average, five-star hotels are available from a fairly wide band of Dh500 to Dh1,500. A room for two per night at Atlantis, the Palm is showing Dh2,061-Dh3,500 for an April stay, while at the Address, the starting rates are from Dh2,250 to Dh3,000. And for W Dubai – The Palm, it will be Dh2,500.

Among five-star properties, Mövenpick Hotel, the Crowne Plaza on Sheikh Zayed Road, Hayatt Regency and Marriot top the list with maximum bookings. In the super-premium category, the Burj Al Arab and Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi remain tourist favourites.

In the four-star category, Rotana Hotels, Holiday Inn, Novotel, Hilton and Millennium make the top choice for European travellers, says Godfrey Lopez of Uranus Travels.

For the Eid holiday, UAE residents contemplating their plans might prefer to stay put because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine situation, rather than take a short trip over to central or eastern European destinations.

Alongside Dubai, staycation deals in Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Fujairah are also expected to see a surge in booking ahead of Eid. "UAE residents prefer inter-emirate travel during this time and with Abu Dhabi relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, a big crowd from Dubai is expected to head towards UAE capital," said Lopez.

The five most booked hotels in Dubai for this season are Crowne Plaza, Sheikh Zayed Road (Dh400-Dh500); InterContinental Dubai - Festival City (Dh700-Dh800); Kempinski, Mall of the Emirates (DhDh700-Dh750) and Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort (Dh1,000-Dh1,600).

The next big break for the hospitality sector is expected around the end of August. "That’s when the next set of staycation deals across the Emirates starts to kick in," said Lopez. "It becomes challenging to book hotels as we near September because of the surge in demand."