Hotel apartments packed with GCC tourists

A cross-section of hotel apartments in the city revealed that their occupancy rate started shooting up by 80 per cent after the DSS events started one after another.

Big families from Saudi Arabia occupy many hotel apartments, followed by families from Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. For big families of three to five children and parents, hotel apartments are the best options because they can accommodate larger families. Hotel apartments are also an affordable means of staying for a week or more. According to officials, the occupancy rates increased to around 80 per cent. They expect the rates to increase further within the coming weeks.

Mousa Al Hayek, general manager of Al Bustan Residence and Center said: "Every year we witness a dramatic increase in the number of tourists from various countries who come to live a different summer in Dubai. The summer in Dubai has many activities and events organised by the DSS office and Dubai governments. The Al Bustan Residence has recorded a sharp increase in the occupancy rates from families coming from the Gulf countries mostly Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman."

Al Hayek added that the GCC families prefer to stay in places where they feel comfortable from their earlier experience. Many GCC families reserve rooms at our place. The occupancy rate of Al Bustan Residence reached 80 per cent. We are also hosting important activities organised by the Dubai Government encouraging more people to stay here.

Mohammed Abu Abdullah drove in from Saudi Arabia with his family of four kids to enjoy the event in Dubai. He chose one of the hotel apartments to make his kids feel comfortable. "It gives more freedom for the family to use kitchen, which enables me to get any type of food. This saves me lot of money if I was staying in another place. Hotel apartments are spacious and suit families. The price is reasonable compared to the hotel rates. I chose to be close to the events for easy access," he added.

Amal Al Deen Bin Zarey, general manger of Al Sondos Suites by Le Meridien said that the current occupancy rater of 60 per cent would exceed 70 per cent during the coming weeks due to the special promotions. "A great number of our guests are from GCC countries including KSA, Qatar and some Europeans and the Emirates airline guests," he added.

Amal Al Deen clarified that GCC families choose hotel apartment due to the comfort, independence and reasonable pricing that these facilities offer. "Our apartment has a bedroom, salon, and kitchen that give more option for families. Al Sondos Suites is a five star accommodation. It doesn't serve alcoholic drinks, making it a secure place for GCC families. The price suits the services provided by the hotel apartment. Amal Al Deen added that the company has special deals with tourism companies inside and outside the UAE to attract more families," said the sales manager of the apartment who visited various GCC countries to introduce the services offered by the hotel apartment.

A number of hotel apartments offering Bundle of Surprises to cheer DSS visitors. These include free breakfast, gymnasium, transportation from the airport and various DSS activity sites including major malls, discount and a welcome basket with drink and fruits placed in the rooms. The guests are happy with the gesture of hospitality shown by the hotel apartments and their friendly employees.

The ten-week DSS 2005 began with the Flower Surprises on June 22 and continues with the Sweets Surprises, Arts Surprises, Colour Surprises, Ice Surprises, Adventure Surprises, Cartoon Surprises, Heritage Surprises, Knowledge Surprises and concludes with the Back-2-School Surprises on September 2.