05 May 2008

Dubai bursts the bubble talk

DUBAI - industry experts have called for an end to speculation that the hotel boom in Dubai is a bubble waiting to burst.

Speaking at the Arab Hotel Investment Conference, Gerhard Hardick, COO, Roya International, a hospitality consultant, predicted the boom times to continue.

"We are getting too small for our jacket when you consider all the major developments region-wide," he said.

"The best way to predict the future is to shape it ourselves. Dubai has done this and the vision of Dubai is now being realised."

Pointing to the real challenges facing the hospitality industry in the region, he said service was one area where standards had actually declined over time.

"This is something we have to look at now as it is core to the value proposition that we offer but in this respect, the influx of supply will resolve the issue in time.

"Destination Dubai has shown that it can level and balance itself out. When all the new hotels come on stream, prices will not collapse but rather will stop rising at such levels as we experience today."

Daniel Hajjar, managing partner of newcomer, Layia Hospitality, said that it was crucial to focus on developing properties in the midscale and budget rankings up to US$150 a night range.

"For the growth of Dubai, particularly in terms of attracting large conventions and events, it is imperative to start investing in this area," he said.

Speaking to TravelMole on the sidelines of the conference, Frederic Bardin, senior vice president of Arabian Adventures and Congress Solutions International, said that the bubble talk "has been around as long as IÃ¢â¬â¢ve been in Dubai and itÃ¢â¬â¢s just not going to happen".

He said the toughest challenge was not getting people to visit Dubai, it was "finding enough hotel rooms to put them in."