Dh5,000 a night: private pool hotel rooms in the UAE see surge pricing over Eid weekend

Resorts with private villas and pools have seen a staycation price surge ahead of Eid Al Fitr

Private villas with plunge pools are in demand this Eid if inflated pricing is anything to go by. Courtesy Nikki Beach Worldwide

Before the upcoming Eid long weekend, the price of a staycation at some UAE resorts has rocketed.

While a slight surge isn't unusual ahead of a public holiday, there is a particular lift in price this year at properties where travellers can have their own private pool in the privacy of their own villa.

With most passenger flights in and out of the country grounded, demand for getaways within the UAE are high, and in Ras Al Khaimah, at the Ritz Carlton Al Wadi Desert Resort, villa staycation deals had been advertised from Dh1,200 plus taxes per night.

At the time of writing, the cheapest stay in one of the resort’s villas with a private pool over the Eid holidays is Dh4,326 (including taxes).

There's a similar story in Dubai. At the luxurious Nikki Beach resort where there are a limited number of villas with private pools, prices are varied. While regular King Rooms are still available to book from Dh900 over the Eid holidays, the cheapest rate for a villa with a pool is Dh5,508 per night, including taxes.

Anantara Dubai The Palm also offers villas with private pools. Over Eid, the resort has a minimum two-night policy in place for guests looking for the best available rates. These start from Dh5,079 per night in a one-bedroom beach pool villa.

Before Eid, the same villa at this Palm Jumeirah property was bookable from Dh2,413 per night. Conversely, the resort’s lagoon view rooms, which do not have their own pools, are still available to book from Dh642 per night over Eid, with no minimum stay required.

The Eid weekend reopening of Jumeirah Beach Hotel's Beit Al Bahar one- and two-bedroom villas offers another option for villa stays with private pools. The hotel's staycation package will offer late check out and early check-in, with daily complimentary breakfast. Booking for this deal only opens on Friday, May 22, which is when the rates will become available on the hotel's website.

In Abu Dhabi, where hotel pools and beaches remain closed, checking into the capital's only luxury desert island escape offers the perfect beach break, but it will cost you a premium. All of the rooms on Zaya Narui Island come with a private pool. At the time of writing, the resort had only one vacant one-bedroom beach villa available to book over Eid.

It has a minimum two-night stay policy and rates start from Dh4,400 per night, including breakfast. Throughout Ramadan, the same villa was available from Dh2,500 per night.

What are price surges?

Price surges happen when demand increases.

Many hotels and travel companies use software to track how many people are making bookings and browsing deals online.

When demand rises for a particular day or room category, the software can automatically increase rates. These price hikes often come in to play when a certain proportion of hotel rooms have been sold.

This could be the case before the Eid holidays as both private and pubic sectors across the UAE are set to celebrate a long weekend, which means a lot of people may be looking to book a hotel.

The price hikes could also be down to social distancing measures which are in place at many resorts.

With a reduced capacity in operation at hotels, prices could have been raised to make up the drop in revenue that hotels might face, or simply to avoid hotels becoming overcrowded with holidaymakers.