In November last year, five major hotel brands launched Abu Dhabi properties within days of each other, adding 1392 hotel rooms to the emirate’s inventory.
Among them were the Westin Golf Resort and Spa, the Rocco Forte hotel, the 400-room Jumeirah Etihad Towers, the Park Hyatt Saadiyat Island and the 229-room Centro Al Manhal Abu Dhabi by Rotana.
Other top names such as the Hyatt Capital Gate came online early this year, while hotels such as the Rosewood and the Ritz Carlton are also eyeing 2012 openings.
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Analysts say the large number of rooms puts pressure on hotel rates and could force some smaller properties out of business.
“Across the whole Gulf region, there’s a lot of old stock, particularly old trophy, five star stock, with good brand names but is in dire need of refurbishment,” said Gavin Samson, director of hospitality experts Christie and Co in the region.
“In Dubai a lot of hotels are spread out, so the impact isn’t as great. In Abu Dhabi, on the Corniche you’ve got the majority of existing stock which is old, about to be blown out of the water [by new properties].
“It’s in such a tight geographical area that you can very quickly see which are the old hotels and which are the new hotels. And I think that accentuates the problem -you’ve got a lot of old stock in close proximity to a lot of new stock in certain locations. In Dubai the issue isn’t as concentrated.”
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