UAE – Abu Dhabi has witnessed a dramatic reversal in hotel rate growth, according to a survey of global hotel rates by Hogg Robinson Group (HRG).
The emirate was in second place in HRG’s January to June 2009 survey, and the only top-10 city to record growth at the time (five per cent). This year however, it experienced the highest average rate reduction of any country (25 per cent).
Like Dubai, Abu Dhabi has witnessed a substantial fall in occupancy combined with the continuing development of new hotels. Whereas the hotel market appeared to be stabilising in Europe and North America, the Middle East saw the most dramatic rate decrease. Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the UAE all saw double-digit falls in rates.
“The challenge now facing hoteliers is to increase rates in line with demand to pre-recession levels,” says Margaret Bowler, director of global hotel relations at HRG, “something which many forecasters believe will happen until 2012 at the earliest.”
In contrast, Hong Kong saw the highest increase in growth, going from a decline of 18 per cent in 2009 to growth of 13 per cent this year.
