Budget hotel incentives 'mild': Jumeirah's Lawless

One of Dubai’s biggest hoteliers has reportedly claimed the government’s incentives for developers to build budget accommodation are not attractive enough.

Gerard Lawless, the president and CEO of Jumeirah Group, told Al Arabiya that the government's attempts to entice investors into lower-end accommodation has been "relatively mild", Hotelier's sister publication Arabian Business reported.

In a bid to reach it's goal of 20 million visitors by 2020, the government has released land plots specifically for three and four-star hotel projects, sped up the construction permit approval process and waived the 10% municpality room tax for four years unpon completion of mid-level projects.

Analysts have warned of an oversupply of luxury hotels in the emirate, particularly after the 2020 World Expo.

However, a recent report, by John LaSalle, found 44% of the 3,600 new hotel rooms due to open in the fourth quarter of 2015 rated three stars or lower - compared with 29% in the first quarter.

Commenting on the matter Lawless said Jumeirah Group, which owns the Burj Al Arab, had not considered anything under four stars.

“We haven’t planned right now below four star [hotels],” Lawless was quoted as saying by Al Arabiya.

“I think also, while budget hotels will be necessary, you’ve got to leave it to the market to see how it’s going to go, and the investor market.”