h1>Industry Benchmark
By Mark Harris
Regional Analysis
Middle East
2008 research by TRI Consulting reveals
a 23% annual growth in serviced
apartment and hotel developments in
the Gulf, This will mean an extra 77,872
rooms coming on stream in the region
by 2010, an increase in room supply of
86% in just three years.
By November 2007, 125 serviced
apartment blocks were registered with
Dubai's Department of Tourism &
Commerce, representing 10,202 units;
an annual rise of 11%. By 2010, this
figure will have risen by another
73 blocks, and 12,235 units.
In the UAE, serviced apartments are
growing in popularity - especially for
business travel - due to the shortage of
hotel bed space. In Dubai, for example,
the average length of stay in a serviced
apartment in 2007 was just 4.29 nights.
Source: Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce.
Up to 2004, Marriott Executive Apartments
were the only player of note and
targeted the longer stay guest. Four years
on, apartments are catering for people
staying for shorter periods who cannot
find hotel rooms.
Another consequence of this under-supply
has been a sharp price rise for serviced
apartments in the region. The average
monthly rate in an extended stay hotel is
$8,000+; however the comparable hotel
rate would be 150% higher.
In May 2008 Emirates Hotels & Resorts,
the premier hospitality management
division of Dubai-based Emirates Airline
entered the serviced apartments sector
with the opening of the Green Lakes
Serviced Apartments, comprising 283
one, two, and three bed apartments.
Dusit is following suit with several
developments in the region. The Dusit
Residence on The Palm comprises 180
two bedrooms, three bedrooms and
townhouses. The Dusit Residence at Dubai
Marina has 151 units and offers penthouse
suites and one to three-bedroomapartments.
The expansion in Dubai and volume
of expats in the community means
that there is already a large stock of
independent apartment operators
of all types. The main international
players will continue to see this as a
lucrative market for expansion for both
the corporate and leisure market
In Abu Dhabi, plans are underway to
launch the Dusit Thani hotel with 593
rooms and suites, complemented by over
400 apartments by Dusit Residences, to
offer a complex of over 1,000 accommodation
options.