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New Year's Eve in Dubai: Hotels almost fully booked; apartments listed for up to Dh40,000 a night

Hotels around Burj Khalifa report 100% occupancy; beachfront villa listed for Dh78,000 a night

With New Year just two weeks away, hotels in Dubai are witnessing exceptionally high occupancy rates for the New Year night. And if you’re planning to book a night in a Downtown hotel to watch Burj Khalifa’s spectacular fireworks on the New Year, it may be too late.

Hotels across Dubai have reached nearly 90 per cent occupancy across the emirate and around 100 per cent in Downtown and Burj Khalifa areas on New Year eve.

Search data on global hotel reservation portal Booking.com showed that bookings are not available across 88 per cent of hotels in the emirate on New Year Night.

The occupancy is even higher in the Downtown and Burj Khalifa areas which is the biggest attraction on the New Year night for its magnificent firework and water fountain, reaching 99 per cent.

Ayman Ashor, general manager, Al Bandar Rotana and Al Bandar Arjaan by Rotana, said hotels are witnessing a full occupancy during the New Year holiday, thanks to the safety measures and the trust of the people in Dubai for safe entertainment, leisure and business.

“Selling rates are better than the previous year, not to forget that we were recovering from the pandemic in 2020. The year-on-year recovery is faster and the rates are better,” added Ashor.

UAE being one of the first cities to reopen after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Emirate’s hospitality sector has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the reopening of the economy and return of the tourists as well as the beginning of Expo 2020.

Since hotels are almost fully booked, the only option left for people looking to book a night in Downtown is a hotel apartment, which costs as high as Dh40,000 on the New Year night. While some of the leftover studio apartments with partial Burj Khalifa view cost as high as more than Dh13,000.

Interestingly, a beachfront villa on Palm Jumeirah has been listed on ZenHotels.com for a Whopping Dh78,000 on the New Year night.

Hussein Gamaleldin, group director of sales and marketing at Canal Central Hotel Business Bay and C Central Resort The Palm, says occupancy is reaching close to 100 per cent for New Year, thanks to an influx of visitors from Expo 2020 and the Dubai Shopping Festival.

“We've seen a European mix of guests who are coming to Dubai to experience the fun-filled New Year celebrations,” added Gamaleldin.

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Colin A. Baker, director for the Middle East at StayWell Holdings, says they is always 100 per cent occupancy over the New Year and 2021 is no exception.

“We are very fortunate to enjoy high demand over New Year period consistently and this year is no exception with occupancy at full capacity. We have a real mix of both residents and tourists from both Asia and Europe looking to enjoy the New Year here in Dubai,” he added.

Ravneet Singh, associate director of sales and marketing, Arabian Courtyard Hotel and Spa, there were some cancellations in early December because of the Omicron variant, but the market bounced back and business is back again in no time.

“Hotel occupancy is over 96 per cent from December 28 onwards and we are already on stop-sale for December 30 and 31. Hotel occupancy is surely better with average daily rates better than the last year as people are willing to travel and explore Dubai which has a lot to offer especially with the Expo 2020 running and Dubai Shopping Festival kicking off during the same period,” Singh concluded.

-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai