UAE: Serviced apartment rates in Dubai have risen sharply, driven by overseas visitors, expats and UAE residents ahead of Expo 2020.
Ayman Ashor, general manager, Al Bandar Rotana and Al Bandar Arjaan by Rotana, said Dubai‘s serviced apartments are attracting a wider guest demographic than before the pandemic.
“Clients get fully-furnished apartments including furniture, kitchen, washing, dishwashers, cleaning facilities and, importantly, bigger space as well. The offer is attractive for those who are looking for a six-month stay or more. As a result, the occupancy level at hotel apartments has been seeing an uptick, despite the Covid-19 challenges, and reaching, at times, up to 95 per cent.”
He said UAE and GCC nationals and expatriates of Arab origin make up a large chunk of those clients who opt to stay in serviced apartments.
Ashor told the Khaleej Times that a fully-equipped serviced apartment used to rent for Dh5,500 (£1,080) per month during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has since risen to around Dh12,000 (£2,365).
“Wait until Expo and the prices could jump up to Dh16,000 (£3,150) a month, if not more. Rates are going up because life is getting back to normal. Consumers should also understand that hoteliers have to pay utilities and other daily expenditures,” he said.
James Wrenn, associate director for hotel consultancy services at Colliers, Middle East and North Africa, said that since the onset of Covid-19 and a fall in tourist arrivals, many of the serviced apartments in Dubai have been focusing on medium and long-stay business.
“The long-stay business has been competing with the private residential market. The upcoming Expo 2020 event is expected to increase demand for serviced apartments — especially across the short stay and medium stay business segments. Both these segments will cater to a range of delegate types from those visiting for a limited time to those travelling to work for the duration of the event,” said Wrenn.
