Qatar 2022 to spark budget sector hotel boom

 Qatar’s successful World Cup 2022 bid would lead to diversification in the hotel market, said Dohaland Hospitality CEO Abdul Aziz Al-Emadi.

Dohaland has made a commitment to the Qatari government to provide a certain number of rooms for the World Cup 2022, which will see the company reviewing its development plans and looking to increase its number of budget offerings.

Discussing plans to expand Dohaland’s offerings, Al-Emadi commented, “We have to consider that people who are coming from different countries will not fly to watch the football and come for a short visit — they will really think about their total expense so it is very important to have something affordable.

“This is the time for the budget hotel,” he added.
In addition to developing more budget hotels, Al-Emadi also confirmed that the company would be looking at hotel developments in areas outside of Doha.

“Our strategy that we are reviewing is the number of hotels that we are bringing, and also the area [we will develop in],” he explained.

“I think the majority of people are thinking of the capital city and they want to build in Doha; but now I think it is very important that we consider other cities — because those areas where the government is going to invest a lot of money so it is important that we re-allocate our strategy according to the different locations [chosen for the football stadiums].

“Dohaland is a mixed-use city and what we can do now is we can do more standalone [properties] by adding more hotels in different areas outside Doha,” he added.