">Forum Views ()
">Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Dubai's 7-star hotel escapes crisis discounting
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
Yahoo! Search
Search:
Sign InNew User? Sign Up
News Home -
Help
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Asia Pacific
World
Search
Search:
Dubai's 7-star hotel escapes crisis discounting
AFP - Sunday, May 17
FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil (AFP) - - Dubai's Burj Al Arab Hotel -- billed as the first seven-star hotel in the world -- has escaped a room-discounting move by owner the Jumeirah Group to shore up demand during the global downturn.
ADVERTISEMENT
As a result, occupancy in the imposing 321-meter (1,053-foot) high building is "less than last year but within our expectations," Jumeirah chief executive Gerald Lawless told AFP Saturday on the sidelines of a world tourism conference in Brazil.
He declined to give occupancy rates.
But he said for the rest of Jumeirah's properties, steep price cuts were being offered to maintain demand.
"At the end of November, bookings were slowing down, so we started offering healthy discounts up to 30 percent for our source markets in the UK, Germany and Russia to stimulate demand," he said.
Despite the crisis, the group was maintaining client numbers from those three key markets, he said, though he noted that reservations were increasingly coming later in a bid to secure cheaper prices.
He said: "The luxury sector is certainly resilient to the crisis but this is also motivated by promotions and prices."
Two of the group's properties in Dubai, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and the Madinat Jumeirah, are keeping occupancy high, with 90 to 95 percent of the rooms filled between February and April at an average price of 570 dollars per night, Lawless said.
The group, which owns 11 hotels, in Dubai, Britain and the United States, plans to forge on with ambitious expansion plans that will see it running 60 properties by 2012.
"Despite the global economic downturn we maintain our objectives," Lawless said.
Jumeirah, part of Dubai Holdings owned by the ruling family of the Gulf emirate, intends to open its first Asian hotel in Shanghai this year, and has just signed a contract to open a hotel in Frankfurt, Germany.
Lawless would not give company forecasts for 2009, but said there was "close to double digit growth in 2008."
Several other international hotel groups have suspended their projects in Dubai after seeing its economy stall over recent months.
The real estate market has imploded but tourists -- for now -- appear to still be going, with hotels recording a five percent increase in check-ins in the first three months of this year.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Sign in to recommend this article »
0 users recommend
Related Articles: Entertainment & Lifestyle
Norway sweeps Eurovision Song ContestAFP - Sunday, May 17
Australian Tsiolkas wins Commonwealth writers prizeAFP - Sunday, May 17
Glam icons Bellucci, Marceau morph in weird fantasy thrillerAFP - Sunday, May 17
Ang Lee brings 'peace and love' to CannesAFP - Sunday, May 17
Coming-of-age ghetto tale 'Precious' triumphs at CannesAFP - Saturday, May 16
Enlarge Photo
An aerial view shows Burj al-Arab hotel in the oil-rich Gulf emirate of Dubai. Dubai's Burj Al Arab Hotel -- billed as the first seven-star hotel in the world -- has escaped a room-discounting move by owner the Jumeirah Group to shore up demand during the global downturn.
Most Popular – Entertainment
Viewed
Popular cereal is a drug, US food watchdog says
Coral Triangle could die by century's end: WWF
British store admits it boobed in bra row
Australian zoo evacuated after orangutan escape
EU fines Intel record 1.06 billion euros
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Community
- Intellectual Property Rights Policy
- Help
Other News on Sunday, 17 May 2009 Suspected drug gang frees 59 from Mexico prison
| International
|
Kuwaiti polls close but voters doubt crisis will end
| International
|
Sudan accuses Chad of third air strike
| International
|
Hospital Where 'Octomom' Gave Birth Fined $250,000
Burglars Caught On Surveillance Video Trying To Break Into Lindsay Lohan's Home
Networks Prepare to Unveil Schedules
Coldplay Offer New Live Album As Free Download
Rob Lowe's Nannygate Officially Over, Settles Lawsuit With Second Nanny
Ticketmaster Admits To Overselling Bruce Spingsteen's Washington Show
Girls Aloud Singer Cheryl Cole's Brother Spared From Jail For Attacking A Man
Actor Vinnie Jones On Trial For Bar Brawl
Producer Sues Ryan O'Neal Over Farrah Fawcett's TV Documentary
Gerard Butler Charged With Hitting A Paparazzo
Suspected drug gang frees 53 from Mexico prison
| International
|
South Korea tries recharging road to power vehicles
| Technology
|
Pamuk may face new trial for Armenia remarks
| Entertainment
|
Wheel Falls Off Plane As It Lands In Buffalo
40 Children Stun Gunned While Vistiting Florida Prisons
Inmate Gets 60 More Years After Caught With Cell Phone
DA Pest Control To Make Fire Ants Headless Using Flies
"Twilight" Star Says Vampire-Crazed Fans Are "Gross"
Medvedev stresses concern on NATO moves near Russia
Second British MP suspended over expense claims
Moscow police arrest 40 at Eurovision gay protest
Russia warns of clampdown on Eurovision gay protest
Cool Britannia? Brits are angriest Europeans: poll
Germany reports record quarterly slump
Swine flu cases soar again as more countries hit
Japan's opposition party elects new chief
Troops take last Tiger coastline: SLanka military
Congress sweeps to victory in India election
Eight Japan school students positive for swine flu
Sri Lanka president declares Tamil Tigers 'defeated'
NKorea scraps contracts with SKorean firms in joint zone
Myanmar under pressure to free Aung San Suu Kyi
Yudhoyono names Indonesian bank chief for VP
China to focus on energy efficiency post-Kyoto: state media
New Web tool WolframAlpha launches test run
Tucson Citizen to print final edition Saturday
Facebook users hooked in new 'phishing' scam
US has new Mideast peace plan: Jordan king
Egypt opens Gaza border
Commerzbank shareholders approve government stake
EBRD seeks to guide ex-Soviet bloc to economic recovery
Rocket hits Afghan mosque, five killed: police
US astronauts, on third spacewalk, repair Hubble
Suspected US drone in Pakistan kills militants
Job losses as GM, Chrysler close dealerships
GM, union at odds as bankruptcy deadline looms
Three NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Swine flu set to spread, reported cases surge: WHO
Pope ends Holy Land trip with call for two-state solution
US insurer Ameriprise rejects Treasury bailout offer
GM aims to shrink dealer network by 40 percent
Recession storm sinks Europe
US consumer prices flat in April
CIA denies it deceived Congress on interrogations
Hubble gets new gyroscopes in space fix-it struggle
Obama retains Bush-era military tribunals
World needs fair and just financial system: China's Wu
Philippines failed to scrap loss-making firms: ADB
Pakistani cenbank buys 50.03 bln rupees of bills
India's Jet Airways says may cut jobs to trim losses
India's Bharti Airtel sees 100-million mobile subscribers
Microsoft teams with Chinese city to fight piracy
Mitsubishi UFJ cancels plan to buy Citigroup unit
IMF to approve $840 mln for Pakistan in June-govt official
Australian Tsiolkas wins Commonwealth writers prize
Glam icons Bellucci, Marceau morph in weird fantasy thriller
Dubai's 7-star hotel escapes crisis discounting
Ang Lee brings 'peace and love' to Cannes
Pain, progress on global day against homophobia
Beauty plays the beast in lingerie football
India's 1st gay magazine relaunches after 7 years
Guggenheim opens major Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit
Scorsese brings classic treat for Cannes afficionados
Sri Lanka's long war in bloody final climax
| International
|
Moscow police arrest 40 at Eurovision gay protest
India's Congress to pick allies after election win
| International
|
Myanmar's Suu Kyi defiant ahead of trial: lawyer
| International
|
Pakistani army closes in on Taliban stronghold in Swat
| International
|
China keeps buying US bonds despite concerns
Asian carriers brace for more rough weather
Nureyev myth celebrated with exhibition
Saudi women pioneers brave clerics with ball games
African-American director takes Harlem to Cannes
'Looking for Eric': the return of Cantona as actor
Norway sweeps Eurovision Song Contest
Chinese tourists avoiding France because of Sarkozy: official
Croatia's bar owners protest anti-smoking law
Obama taps Republican governor as China envoy
US astronauts equip Hubble on third spacewalk
US uptick doesn't mean crisis is over: top US economist
Pakistan urges civilians to flee from Swat
| International
|
Outnumbered U.S. troops defend Afghan frontier
| International
|
Kuwait women enter parliament, deadlock may not end
| International
|
Militants take key Somali town, warlord defects
| International
|
First Darfur rebel to appear before Hague court: ICC
| International
|
Thousands of Turks march in anti-government protest
| International
|
Myanmar's Suu Kyi defiant ahead of trial: lawyer
| International
|
Damaged EU-Russia ties bode ill for summit
| International
|
Obama to visit Catholic university
Astronauts to take fourth walk to repair Hubble
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers admit defeat
Japan confirms 32 new swine flu cases, total at 44
Sri Lankan rebels say they have put down arms
Japan officials promote hip home
Intense battles as Pakistan troops move on Taliban
Australian PM defends ministers' travel bill
Taiwan opposition protests Ma's China policies
Myanmar frees Aung San Suu Kyi doctor: family
Japan's new opposition chief now eyes PM's job
Study finds tall people at top of wages ladder
China to push investment in Taiwan: report
SKorean consortium wins airport deal in Britain
Recovery talk runs on despite rearview recession
China electricity use down in April: report
South Korea April import prices fall, first in 2 yrs
Rock star, fisherman bid for Lebanon election race
Ben Stiller stars at Smithsonian in Museum sequel
| Entertainment
|
US Pokemon lovers to challenge Europe and Japan
Johnny Hallyday seeks Vengeance in Cannes
| Entertainment
|
Crisis bad news for Russia's shrinking population
Africans tell their own stories at NY film festival
| Entertainment
|
Splat, you're dead: German paintballers fight back
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights