Dubai is set for a winter tourism boom as hotel room rates rise and bookings surge in the lead up to the Cop28 global climate conference.
The crucial UN summit, which runs from November 30 to December 12, is expected to bring 70,000 visitors to the emirate from around the world.
The National spoke to hoteliers and industry experts who predict occupancy levels will go through the roof during the two weeks of an event that will garner worldwide attention.
Rooms in Dubai's hotels are already selling out fast, according to a leading expert, with the UAE's National Day also taking place on the conference's opening weekend (Saturday, December 2).
Room rates for the opening day of Cop28 will set you back as much as five times current prices at some hotels, The National found
“Cop28 combined with UAE National Day on Saturday, December 2, and along all other events taking place in Dubai during the at busy winter period, will ensure the city is absolutely buzzing with activity,” said Kostas Nikolaidis, account executive for the Middle East and Africa at hotel analytics provider STR.
“On the hotel demand side, almost 30 per cent of all hotel rooms are already booked for both the first few days of Cop28 as well as New Year’s Eve.
“Demand is expected to continue to build up as we get closer to both dates. Both dates will no doubt lead to exceptional performance for the hotel industry in Dubai.”
So far, the night with the most bookings is unsurprisingly Saturday, December 2, which is National Day. Almost one in three of all hotel rooms in Dubai have already been booked for that evening – according to data provided by STR's parent company CoStar.
About 32 per cent of all rooms are booked out already in Dubai for the first night of Cop28, which is Thursday, November 30.
That figure rises to 33 per cent the following night.
Expo's Rove hotel fully booked
“We are seeing lots of interest for the Cop28 period,” said Paul Bridger, chief operating officer of Rove Hotels.
“Rove Expo 2020, the only hotel inside the Cop28 site, is fully booked.
“Given that the event falls on a very busy period of the year, we expect to see all Rove Hotels in Dubai running at 100 per cent occupancy for the Cop28 dates, with the city overall near full capacity.”
A standard room at Rove Expo 2020, the hotel on site where Cop28 is taking place, costs in the region of Dh1,500 during the event, according to a staff member.
“With the current trends we are expecting the hotel to have occupancies in the range of 95 per cent,” said Thomas Kurian, hotel manager a Leva Hotels.
Group bookings in demand
The main drivers behind interest in Dubai hotel rooms during Cop28 are groups connected to governments taking part in the climate change conference, according to Mr Bridger.
“Most queries come from groups from the participating governments, although there are also inquiries from media organisations, NGOs and support groups,” he said.
“With the current trends we are expecting the hotel to have occupancies in the range of 95 per cent,” said Thomas Kurian, hotel manager a Leva Hotels.
“With the current trends we are expecting the hotel to have occupancies in the range of 95 per cent,” said Thomas Kurian, hotel manager at Leva Hotels.
“As for rates, it would be approximately 20 per cent higher against [the same period] last year.”
A call to the hotel's reservation team revealed a standard room will set you back Dh1,050 on Friday, November 30 – the opening night of Cop28.
He said a trend had also emerged of how long people attending Cop28 were visiting Dubai for – as well as where visitors were going to travel from.
“We have witnessed that the demand for Cop28 has drawn guests from the UK, Israel, and the European market,” said Mr Kurian.
“These discerning visitors are planning stays of seven to 10 days, underscoring the international appeal and significance of the event.”
Proximity to the climate change conference has also played a part in some hotels experiencing a surge in interest.
“We are experiencing very high demand for Cop28,” said Robert El Khoury, vice president of sales and marketing at JA The Resort.
"This is primarily because we are one of the closest hotels to the venue.
“Requests are coming from various sources, primarily direct bookings, as well as through government organisations and embassies.”
The company is expecting occupancy at the property to be at 100 per cent throughout Cop28.
Prices for standard rooms during the opening night of Cop28, at JA The Resort, start from just under Dh1,950.
In comparison, the same room would cost Dh507 for Wednesday, September 27.
Mr El Khoury added that sister property The Manor by JA was also almost sold out, with only limited availability left.
“Guests are coming from across the globe, with delegations from Europe and Africa, and we are anticipating the arrival of guests from the GCC and the Middle East,” he said.
“The typical duration of their stay spans the entire conference, which lasts for 14 days.
“Cop28 has certainly generated a significant increase in demand and will positively impact occupancy and prices in Dubai.”
New Year's demand
Hoteliers are also expecting to see a similar pattern emerge on New Year's Eve, traditionally a busy night for the industry in Dubai.
“Anticipation is high for New Year's Eve, as early bookings are already reflecting the customary robust demand,” said Mr Kurian.
“Given our strategic proximity to Downtown Dubai, we expect to reach full occupancy during this celebratory period, which aligns with the consistent interest we observe during Cop28.”
Rove Hotels was also preparing for a bonanza New Year's Eve across Dubai.
“Compared to previous years, at Rove we are seeing an increase in demand around the New Year's Eve across our city hotels,” said Mr Bridger.
“Room rates on certain properties such as Rove Downtown or Rove City Walk, which are near the celebrations in Downtown Dubai, are also 10 per cent higher year on year.”
Rove Downtown rates this year are starting at Dh2,299, on New Year's Eve, while a room at Rove City Walk starts from around Dh1,799.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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