Cristal to open second hotel in the New Year

Cristal Hotels and Resorts will open its second hotel in Abu Dhabi as part of an expansion plan that will see it launch 25 hotels in the emirate over the next five to 10 years, the operator said.

The Abu Dhabi based hotel operator signed the deal to open the hotel, Cristal Salam Hotel, with Emerald Middle East Real Estate. The 112 room property is expected to be opened in January 2011.

Occupancy rates at hotels in Abu Dhabi declined 23 percent to 51.6 percent in July compared to the same month in 2009 as an increase in supply entered the market.

The capital still has 14,712 rooms in the pipeline and 8,460 rooms in the construction phase, according to STR Global.

Peter Blackburn, CEO of Cristal Hotels and Resorts said: “Cristal Hotels and Resorts believe that there is still so much room for growth in the UAE’s hospitality sector as we continue to pursue our growth plan to operate a total of 25 hotels within five to ten years.”