Opening a hotel in financial crisis: Atlantis Palm Hotel

Opening a hotel in financial crisis, you would think it isn't the best thing to do. Companies have difficulties, so have financial institutions and tourists react on this evolution by not spending that much money anymore. Though, the Arab Gulf State of Dubai thinks differently.

$ 1,5 mio. That's the price of this construction. Sol Kerzner, gaming and resort magnate, says they believe in this hotel, on a long-term vision. They believe Dubai will be one of the top destinations of the world. They have attracted a growing number of tourists. Is this surprising? No! Dubai and the rest of the gulf states are having a tourist boom. This because of the investments they do, and the becoming of a brand, the Gulf state-brand.

Back to the Atlantis Palm Hotel. The hotel's signature suite costs $ 25.000 a night, beyond the reach of ordinary holiday makers. But will this affect the rich businessman? They always spend a lot of money, when they are travelling, sometimes with money of the company itself and probably they will be doing throughout the crisis. Unless they really are affected by the financial problems, stocks...

But how many guests have been staying in the hotel since it has opened in September? The occupancy is around 77 and 78 percent according to Kerzner, but internal documents obtained by Reuters forecast occupancy, rates around 19 to 80 percent, between 19 - 25 November, and peaking when the star guests arrive for the Gala Lunch. But look at this: 17 November: Average Room Rate: $ 231. 20 November: Average Room Rate: $ 40!!! This because of a low occupancy. By now, it has raised from 26% up to 33%. Apparently, businesspeople do feel the financial crisis. And the hotel does too. It has this strange effect on us, hasn't it?

This hotel is a piece of art in Dubai, again. After the Burj Al Arab, it will be a magnificent hotel, that attracts wealthy tourists. And after all, that's the target of this Golf State...

In search for an hotel? : globalhotelreview.com

Wonderful ! Eventually a subjective site about hotels worldwide. You can choose whether you like the hotel by giving good marks, or if you think this hotel isn't not worth existing, just let yourself go in the ratings.

A short manual to use this site:

On the first page, you should enter the name of a hotel, and if possible, the city and country where it is situated. Afterwards, you get the website, email, adress, map... of this hotel. But the thing we are looking for, can be found at the bottom of the map: the hotel reviews. You can see the opinion of those people, who stayed in the hotel (hopefully). They rate cleanliness, facilities, service, location and pricing.

You can find a written review about the hotel. This is a nice tool to use, when you want to go to a hotel, you sometimes really don't know what to expect. Just have a look on this site, but be aware of the subjectivity of some persons (could be hotelowners), who maybe want to undermine other players. But don't be frightened ! If there are more good reviews, than bad ones, it's easy to find the "hotelowner" ;) Or it's just someone with a bad experience in this hotel.

Overall, this site seems a good and subjective tool to me. Just check it out yourself: http://www.globalhotelreview.com/

Ryanair announces winterbreak Maastricht

It has begun. Ryanair began punishing the Netherlands, by stopping their flights already from one destination: Maastricht. The Taxes who are too high with our Northern neighbours, are the cause of this retrieve. It's their own fault.



The "ecotax", how it is called, killed MAA.nl, including the jobs of 110 people. The tourism to and from Maastricht, will definitely be reduced. Ryanair has put Maastricht and Aachen on the map, but with this initiative it's going to be forgotten again. People won't go to MAA anymore, they have to go to Charleroi or Eindhoven (Eindhoven, for the time being...).



Painfull detail: Last year, Maastricht spoke with Ryanair about a possible extending from 3 to 10 destinations! The NBTC (Nederlands Bureau voor Toerisme en Congressen) valued the expenditure per tourist on € 330, and thought there would be 150.000 tourists a year more in Maastricht. That would be 150.000 x 330 = € 49,5 mio !!! Byebye, that futuremoney! Byebye, that futureplan!



However, no worries for us Belgians! As a gift that we didn't rise our taxes, Charleroi gets three more destinations: Reus, Trieste and Bratislava. Go go Charleroi! Become the Ryanairhub of middle Benelux! Oh that's right, you already are!

Introduction touractua.blogspot.com

Hello,

I'm Jan Lambrechts, and I'm a student on the XIOS-hogeschool Limburg. Touristic Actuality shows a nowadays view on tourism. I will create articles on this blog about tourism, and you're always welcome to give some comments. If you got a question, don't hesitate to ask me, by putting a comment, or sending me an email.

Enjoy this blog!