Rotana's Elias believes the new system will "elevate the standards within Abu Dhabi".
"We strongly believe that this will provide much-needed consistency to tour operators selling the destination, successfully manage the expectations of our respected visitors and ultimately ensure a level of quality performance from all the emirate's accommodation providers in line with the development of a world-class destination," he explains.
Shangri-La's Glorney believes it will be better for all hotels to have an official rating, as it will "enhance the standard of hotels in the city".
Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which has several properties in the pipeline for Abu Dhabi, is also impressed with the standardised classification scheme.
As area director of sales and marketing, UAE, Shujaat Yar comments: "Ultimately it is the individual traveller who will benefit, by experiencing a destination where a consistently high level of service is delivered."
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Top-heavy hotels?
Abu Dhabi has become synonymous with high quality accommodation, thanks to the impressive number of luxury hotels located in the emirate. But is it, as some industry professionals have suggested, slightly top-heavy?
Have hopes of creating a 'five-star emirate' resulted in lower end properties receiving less encouragement to develop there?
ADTA promotions director Ali Al Hosani says no. "There has not been any discouragement. I think you will find that with Abu Dhabi witnessing a shortage of hotel accommodation currently, and demand having been identified in the upper end of the market, the five-star product has been favoured by developers," he says.
"We anticipate that other levels will emerge in future for certain parts of the destination - although the five-star sector will remain predominant because it best fits our target audience," he admits.
According to Shangri-La's Glorney, the city has traditionally had a demand for five-star luxury properties. "However I do believe that this is shifting," she adds. "There is a new trend for contemporary, efficient and functional hotels and we see this demand being addressed with four and three star brands entering the market. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts also has a four star business brand called Traders that we hope to bring to the city soon."
Rotana's Elias sees "a huge untapped potential for the mid-range and budget accommodation", which he believes offers attractive options to students and executives traveling to the emirate.
"The emergence of mid-range and low cost hotels has become one of the hottest trends within travel accommodation, introducing an essential diversity into the hotel category," he says.
"In 2006, we launched Centro Hotels by Rotana which is developed to meet the demands of the new generation of travellers, who seek both finesse and functionality at reasonable rates. We have committed to have 25 Centro properties within the coming five years."
It's true that the top-heavy outlooking will be broken up in the coming years; IHG will open a Holiday Inn in Abu Dhabi in March next year, with a 310-room Premier Inn is slated to open in December.
Indeed, Premier Inn Dubai Investments Park general manager Stuart Reid is eager to praise the ADTA for the support they've offered the brand.
"Abu Dhabi actually based their three-star model (for the new classification regulations) on us," he reveals. "It was going to be 32m² minimum size for a three-star room, then they came and saw us and changed the minimum size of the room. They've been absolutely fantastic."
However at the moment, says Starwood's Yar, there are "few options which would meet the requirements of individual travellers or companies who are price sensitive".
"There is certainly room in the market for hotel companies to enter and provide mid- range to low budget accommodation," he says.
Diverse developments
Hotels are the only thing being built in Abu Dhabi. A number of innovative projects are coming up in the emirate, promising to offer visitors even more unique experiences.
One of the most ambitious projects underway is Saadiyat Island, a 27km² island just off Abu Dhabi's coast.
Starwood's Yar explains that the island will host premium brands in hospitality, education and leisure, combined with the world's largest concentration of cultural institutions.
"There will also be berths for 1000 boats, two championship golf courses, civic and leisure facilities, sea-view apartments and elite villas," he adds.
Development began in 2006 and is slated to finish in 2018.
Work on Yas Island, a man-made island of around 6000 acres which is to host the new Formula 1 track, is also underway.
The Abu Dhabi International Airport is also set for a change, and is currently in the first phase of its US $254 million expansion, due to be completed in 2010.
The ADTA's Al Hosani is of course perfectly positioned to see how the new developments will effect the emirate.
"Coming up we have the Ferrari World theme park, the Gary Player-designed Saadiyat Beach Golf Course, the Desert Islands adventure, new museums planned for Saadiyat Island including the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum and the Louvre Abu Dhabi among them, and many more," he lists. "These projects will certainly change the face of Abu Dhabi's tourism offering.
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