Egyptian protesters throw fire bombs towards riot police during clashes in Cairo Downtown on March 5, 2013. Egyptian protesters throw fire bombs towards riot police during clashes in Cairo Downtown on March 5, 2013.

Giza, a no-go
Just across the Nile is Giza, where you will find the pyramids and other luxury hotel rooms on the cheap. Occupancy increased 19.1% in 2012 on 2011, but average daily rates slumped 10%, a report by Colliers International shows.

“To get to Giza you have to go very close to Downtown and Tahrir Square. [Pre-revolution] Giza had the highest amount of leisure travellers in the whole of Cairo because that’s where everyone wanted to go. So the leisure travellers panicked and so did the hotels which have had to sell very cheap packages or lower their rates for FITs on sites like Booking.com,” says Colliers International head of hotels and resorts – MENA Filippo Sona.

Heliopolis, the perfect getaway
On the other hand, hotels in the Heliopolis area, close to the airport — providing an easy escape for visitors — are rather hopeful. In fact, Heliopolis is the only area of the city that has managed to significantly increase occupancy in 2012 without slashing rates.

The area, which is home to hotel brands including Fairmont, Le Meridien, Radisson Blu and Novotel, received an increase of 0.4% on average daily rate to around $100 in 2012 compared to 2011, according to statistics compiled by Colliers International. Occupancy increased a significant 21.4%.

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“Heliopolis is characterised by the corporate business. The business of Cairo Downtown has almost shifted to the Heliopolis area, which is seen as a safer place to be,” explains Sona, adding that he too now chooses to stay in Heliopolis when visiting the city.

Jones Lang LaSalle Misr’s Sami, who is based in the firm’s Heliopolis office, said he has also observed that the area “seems to be maintaining its rates and doing better”.

“Actually when the Cairo Downtown hotels had little or zero occupancy, those nearer the airport were overbooked,” he recalls.

Bargain-hungry
clients & investors While slashing hotel rates to bring occupancy up has proven to be an effective strategy for most hotels, not all visitors to Cairo are in search of a bargain hotel room — for some it’s business as usual.

“The professional segment is still very much present with telecommunications business a primary reason for many who are travelling in and out of Cairo; you have the headquarters for Microsoft, Vodaphone MEA and a number of banks. Telecommunications, government and professional services are still very active,” reveals Sona.

Others are looking for much bigger deals in the city. Governmental turbulence has called for the services of international consultants, while investors looking beyond the current unrest are visiting the city to seek out opportunities.

“There is a lot of interest from Arab investors and other people looking into the market. So while there aren’t a lot of tourists coming in, these are business people,” says Sami.
Just last month, Hilton Worldwide signed a management contract with Saudi Egyptian Real Estate Development for its sixth property in Cairo, due to open in 2016.

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