Arabs boost occupancy in Middle East
Hotels struggling to attract guests in the Middle East are being helped by Arabs travelling less to Europe and North America and more in their own region, said one Cairo hotel manager last week.
John O'Sullivan, who opened the Four Seasons in the Egyptian capital last May, said that Beirut, Dubai and Cairo had become more frequent leisure destinations for Arabs since 11 September because they did not feel welcome in the West.
One advantage for O'Sullivan has been that although occupancy slipped to 40% in October, most of his suites were taken because visiting Arabs tend to take the more expensive rooms.
One has even spent nearly $2m at the hotel in the past 14 months (Table Talk, page 19). "My average room rate has actually gone through the ceiling," said O'Sullivan.
There is no immediate prospect of a recovery as the Muslim holy period of Ramadan is not good for business, but O'Sullivan expected business to start returning to normal in the first quarter next year.
"Egypt is always the first in the region to be hit in a downturn and the last to recover," he said.
O'Sullivan claimed he had not discounted his 271 bedrooms, but had offered deals including four nights for the price of three.
"Discounting didn't make sense because it was not going to create business," he said. "Besides, if you discount from 100 to 80 it's a 20% cut but when you put it back up from 80 to 100 it's a 25% increase, which can cause problems."
by David Harris
Four Seasons Cairo
Guest profile before and after 11 September
Before: 35% Middle Eastern; 35% European; 25% American; 5% others
After: 55% Middle Eastern; 30% European; 5% American; 10% others
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 29 November - 5 December 2001
