A room at the new Bab Al Qasr hotel in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Millennium and Copthorne
A room at the new Bab Al Qasr hotel in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Millennium and Copthorne

Abu Dhabi to get 2,400 new hotel rooms



Abu Dhabi expects to get 2,400 new hotel rooms this year, as exhibitions drive demand in the capital.

The emirate reported an 11 per cent increase in hotel guests through May, compared to the same period last year, consultancy JLL said on Wednesday in a report ahead of the Hotel Show Dubai next month.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority is yet to release tourism figures for the first half of the year.

The addition of thousands of new rooms is putting pressure on room rates.

Abu Dhabi-based National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels (NCTH) reported a 1.6 per cent year-on-year drop in its first-half group revenues.

The company attributed the drop to the absence of the five-day, biennial defence exhibition Idex, which took place in February last year. Idex attracted 101,000 visitors and 1,200 international and local companies.

NCTH posted Dh410.9 million in revenues during the first six months, a drop from Dh417.8m during the same period last year. Its hotels division posted revenues of Dh149.9m during the first half, a drop from Dh161.4m during the first half of last year.

The Abu Dhabi-listed company owns properties that include the Abu Dhabi InterContinental and Danat Resort – Jebel Dhanna.

Abu Dhabi had 24,353 rooms from 104 properties at the end of May, according to research company STR.

The supply of hotel rooms and slowdown in the regional economy owing to low oil prices is also hurting the hotel sector, according to Desmond Hatton, the general manager at Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi.

“The overall demand to the destination Abu Dhabi in terms of both leisure and business travel is not proportionate to this extensive supply of hotels,” Mr Hatton said. “There is always an opportunity to further boost the marketing of the destination as a whole towards fostering the demand.”

New hotel openings this year include the 428-room Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Residences Emirates Pearl and Bab Al Qasr. The 200-room Four Seasons on Al Maryah Island opened in May, and the 156-room Gloria Downtown Hotel opened in April.

The delayed 677-room Bab Al Qasr is expected to open this current quarter.

Bab Al Qasr will be the first property to open as part of Millennium and Copthorne Middle East and Africa’s luxury Biltmore Collection.

Increased competition means more Abu Dhabi hotels are offering packages and room promotions, consultant CBRE said in its second-quarter report for the Abu Dhabi market.

That includes room packages from Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi until the end of September, Yas Waterworld packages from Rotana and room rates at half the price from some luxury hotels, compared to Dubai properties during the summer season. A room at Four Seasons hotel in Abu Dhabi starts at Dh790 for a Friday night later this month, compared to Dh1,760 for a night at its Jumeirah property in Dubai the same day.

In May, the latest data available, Abu Dhabi average occupancy rose 1.3 per cent to 74.4 per cent year-on-year, while the average daily rate decreased 4.1 per cent to Dh433.10, according to STR.

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Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others

Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.

As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.

Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.

“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”

Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.

“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”

Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.

Results

Final: Iran beat Spain 6-3.

Play-off 3rd: UAE beat Russia 2-1 (in extra time).

Play-off 5th: Japan beat Egypt 7-2.

Play-off 7th: Italy beat Mexico 3-2.

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The biog

Name: Maitha Qambar

Age: 24

Emirate: Abu Dhabi

Education: Master’s Degree

Favourite hobby: Reading

She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Tips from the expert

Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.

  1. Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
  2. It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
  3. Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
  4. Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
THE BIO

Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.

Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.

Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.

Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.

 

 

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

The Case For Trump

By Victor Davis Hanson
 

%3Cp%3EThe%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20-%20Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Arabic%20Language%20Centre%20will%20mark%20International%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Day%20at%20the%20Bologna%20Children's%20Book%20Fair%20with%20the%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Translation%20Conference.%20Prolific%20Emirati%20author%20Noora%20Al%20Shammari%2C%20who%20has%20written%20eight%20books%20that%20%20feature%20in%20the%20Ministry%20of%20Education's%20curriculum%2C%20will%20appear%20in%20a%20session%20on%20Wednesday%20to%20discuss%20the%20challenges%20women%20face%20in%20getting%20their%20works%20translated.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A