The growing number of hotel rooms in Abu Dhabi is about to expand further with Rotana Hotels announcing it is adding 800 rooms in the city's Capital Centre development. The extra capacity is coming from three properties in the mixed-use development near the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). "The three new properties under our management at Capital Centre are a great opportunity for Rotana to deepen its well-established base in Abu Dhabi and will complement our existing operations," said Selim el Zyr, the president and chief executive of Rotana.
Two of the properties are scheduled to open next year, Rotana said. The Capital Centre Rotana was designed to be a 300-room, four-star hotel, while the Centro Capital Centre will be a 300-room budget hotel. The company plans to open the third property, the Capital Centre Arjaan by Rotana, in 2012. This property is expected to be a 200-room, four-star hotel and apartment complex. These additions are likely to exacerbate price competition in Abu Dhabi.
The average room rate in the capital in March fell 27.7 per cent to US$228 (Dh837.45) from March last year, according to data from STR Global, a research company in London. Average occupancy was down 24.2 per cent to 64 per cent. Total hotel guest revenue in Abu Dhabi fell 5 per cent in the first quarter from the same period last year to Dh1.15 billion, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority said last month.
In the first quarter of this year, the capital's accommodation inventory hit 17,600 rooms, up from just under 13,000 in the same period last year. ashah@thenational.ae
