By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
Room rates at hotels and hotel apartments in Qatar are likely to lower due to the rising competition in the hospitality industry, a hotelier has observed.
“Competition will be very high definitely and what we feel is that prices will drop,” Marsa Malaz Kempinski general manager Wissam Suleiman said.
The 2015 mid-year tourism performance summary of Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), presented to the media the other day, showed that the country’s tourism accommodation sector continues to develop and expand with the opening of 11 new hotels at the start of this year.
According to QTA, these hotels (five 5-stars, one 4-star, and five 3-stars) added approximately 1,400 new rooms to the hospitality sector, including high end resorts such as Marsa Malaz Kempinski and Banana Island Resort by Anantara.
The report also said additional 13 properties with approximately 2,500 rooms are expected to come online before the end of 2015.
Asked if every hotel gets a fair share of the “pie,” Suleiman told a media gathering on the Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) 2015 updates that supply is high and there is a need to “put more ingredients to the pie and make it bigger.”
He pointed out that various hotels in Doha are developing their own strategies to entice visitors and boost their businesses.
Marsa Malaz Kempinski is eyeing to attract more visitors from the Far East such as Malaysians who are on visa on arrival to Qatar.
“Our marketing campaign for 2016 is to visit these countries and promote our business,” he noted.
Hotel officials are also planning spend the remaining months of the year in Spain, London, and Germany to attract European tourists.
Besides promoting Qatar as a top family destination, Suleiman said the country’s diverse cultural and tourism offerings make it an ideal and attractive place to visit.
“It is a safe and clean country,” he noted. “You have restaurants which serve the best dishes, hotels, and everything is great here so why people will not come?”
According to Suleiman, the events organised by QTA such as the Eid and summer festivals particularly during off peak seasons boost tourism and attract more people to travel to Qatar.
While many of their visitors were from Saudi Arabia, he stressed that a significant number of reservations came from Qataris.
After QSF’s hotel promotions, Mars Malaz Kempinski announced that it will be offering a 20% discount on room rates during the Eid al-Adha.
“Even if it is a peak time, we are still giving a discount. Those who are in vacations their pockets are exhausted already and it is not smart to go with the high rates because nobody will come,” he said.
