A panoramic view of the skyline of Doha, seen from the corniche with moored dhows and the Museum of IslamicArt in the foreground. A panoramic view of the skyline of Doha, seen from the corniche with moored dhows and the Museum of IslamicArt in the foreground.


REVISED TARGETS

However, despite a significant number of developments in the pipeline and 2010 being touted as the year 42 hotels would open, QTA has been forced to re-adjust its position.

QTA chairman Ahmed Al Nuaimi told Hotelier Middle East magazine that just 28 of the expected 42 hotels would be open by the end of the year.

Story continues below
Advertisement

He explained: “For the first half of 2010, there were eight hotels that opened. There are about 20 that are scheduled to open for the second half of 2010. The remaining hotels originally scheduled to open by year end 2010 will open in 2011. All in all, we expect about 40 hotels to open in the next 12 months.

“The delays in hotel openings were primarily related to renegotiations with contractors as the result of price adjustments coming out of the global economic crisis. Such negotiations take time. We are pleased to say that all of the projects are going ahead — that nothing has been cancelled.”

Amongst the hotel companies forced to delay their openings was Hilton Worldwide, which has two hotels due to open in Qatar. The first — the Hilton Doha — was due to open in 2010, but was postponed to Q1 2011, and the second —the Hilton Doha Residence — is currently due to open in 2012.

Hilton Worldwide vice president operations Arabian Peninsula and Indian Ocean Essam Abouda said of the delayed opening: “This change in the opening date was due to a delay in the completion of the final aspects of the hotel construction. We plan to open the property early next year”.

In addition to the Hilton Doha, a number of other properties have been forced to delay their openings, with one company unsure when —or even if—its hotel will be operational, however, these companies were unable or unwilling to comment on the pitfalls they had encountered this year.

The Hotelier Middle East table of upcoming properties shows that of the large chains, seven estimate that they will not be opening in 2011 — with one property aiming for 2013-14, and another unable to announce an opening date at this stage, suggesting that unless a large number of independent hotels are set to open next year, the QTA may struggle to fill its quota of openings.