New Rotana hotels expect 100% occupancy during F1

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RotanaRotana is expecting a 100 per cent occupancy for the two hotels (567 rooms) it plans to open on Yas Island in time for the Formula One race on November 1, said a senior executive of the company.

RotanaRotana's two properties are "completely ready" to welcome motoring enthusiasts for the first Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix.

"It's taken around 20 months and 3,000 workers at any one time to create these properties, the Yas Island Rotana and the Centro Yas Island," said Joe Batshoun, General Manager of both Yas Island Rotana and Centro Yas Island told Emirates Business.

Commenting on the opening of Yas Island Rotana and Centro Yas Island, Omer Z Kaddouri, Senior Vice-President UAE for RotanaRotana, said: "We are very proud to be managing these properties and have been working hand in hand with AldarAldar and RotanaRotana corporate office to ensure all areas of the opening are perfect."

The hotels overlook the Yas Marina Circuit. The Yas Island Rotana has 308 rooms and suites as well as an Indian restaurant and a themed New York urban restaurant.

The adjoining Centro Yas Island is the group's first hotel to open under "Centro Hotels by RotanaRotana", the company's business hotel brand. "The 259-room Centro Yas Island is a contemporary concept and meets demands of a new generation of travellers, seeking finesse and functionality at reasonable rates," said Kaddouri.

The Rotana hotelsRotana hotels are among the seven that Aldar Hotels and Hospitality has scheduled for opening on Yas Island in time for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, said a senior executive.

"We will have 2,500 hotel rooms open on Yas Island for the race," Managing Director Paul Bell told this newspaper earlier this month.

"We are also opening a long-stay product. Six of the hotels are in a plaza and are about 200 metres from the track.

"The track runs underneath Yas Hotel, which is managed by AldarAldar. There will be one five-star, four four-star and two two-star properties. All the brands have started their marketing and we are marketing Yas Hotel."

Bell said the development had become a destination in its own right aside from the F1 event and was ideal for conferences. "We have a huge amount of interest in the business segment as it can take large-scale meeting, incentives, conference and exhibition business. There are 35 bars and restaurants, a golf course and a marina."

" I am looking forward to working with other operators to ensure coherence with the aim to promote Yas Island as a destination," said Batshoun.

Asked about average room rates, Bell said: "Abu Dhabi has one of the highest rates in the world, mainly because there is a low room supply."

However, Batshoun said: "The rates are in line with the rates that has been set by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority."

The Deloitte and STR Global report for August said RevPar in Abu Dhabi during the year-to-date had increased by 0.8 per cent compared with 2008. Occupancy declined to 61.3 per cent in August, compared to 76.09 in August 2008, while RevPar fell by 25.2 per cent to $115 (Dh422).

Abu Dhabi is capping rates during the Grand Prix period, a process that is being controlled by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.

The Cushman and Wakefield Middle East Real Estate Report said the hotel market in Abu Dhabi is largely dominated by the four- and five-star categories. The emirate is expected to have an additional 14,000 rooms by 2012 - 35 per cent of which will be in the five-star category.

By Nina Varghese

© Emirates Business 24/7 2009