Multinational hotel chains, looking to shore up falling occupancies, are now wooing Middle Eastern travellers with special packages that include Arabic-speaking staff, private swimming pools and butler services, according to senior hotel executives.
Thierry Bertin, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing for South West Asia at Hyatt, said: "The Middle East is an important market for us, and we have tailored a wide range of services to attract business and leisure travellers visiting Germany from the region."
The four Hyatt properties in Germany offer special services, including culinary specialities, Arabic-speaking staff and prayer rugs to provide a more comfortable stay for Middle Eastern guests.
Berlin, which, according to the TRI HotStats survey, has seen profitability dip by more than 30 per cent, has three hotel brands – the Marriott, the Hyatt and the Ritz Carlton – offering services with an Arabic touch.
The other Hyatt properties in Germany catering to visitors from the Middle East include the Park Hyatt Hamburg, the Hyatt Regency Mainz and the Hyatt Regency Cologne.
The Hyatt hotels in Germany are offering further services, which include 24-hour room service, in-room coffee- and tea-making facilities, and complimentary fruit and bottled water.
The special package at the Marriott Berlin, valid up to August 31, has a traditional Middle Eastern flavour. It includes Arabic-speaking front desk and guest service personnel. The hotel also provides Arabic newspapers and TV channels, complimentary in-room amenities with the Holy Quran, dates and fresh fruits, prayer rooms and special recommendations for oriental restaurants.
It is extending shopping transfers to KaDeWe – the biggest shopping mall in Europe. It is offering the entire package for €180 (Dh932) for a deluxe single room per night, with a €20 surplus for double occupancy.
The Orient arrangement, as this special Middle East promotion is called at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin, offers Middle Eastern guests the comforts of home complemented by personalised service, including in-room dining menu with Arabian dishes.
Use of the La Prairie Boutique Spa is also complementary for Arab guests at the hotel, which has 303 guest rooms. It is offering the entire package for €235 for a superior single room per night and €315 for a junior suite per night.
In Spain, the Hotel Villa Padierna, Marbella, another Ritz-Carlton operated hotel near the mountain village of Benahavis, has launched Las Casitas of Villa Padierna for tourists from the Middle East to get an authentic Spanish experience. The villas of Hotel Villa Padierna, Marbella, give privacy to guests from the region and come with amenities such as plasma TVs and kitchenettes.
Besides personalised services such as private 24-hour butler and access to the VIP Las Casitas Lounge, the villas also offer large terraces and private swimming pools, which, the hotel says, are ideally suited for Middle Eastern guests.
Hotels in Europe, like most international destinations, have been experiencing double-digit drops in average daily rates and revenue per available room, mainly because of the decline in tourist arrivals and the freeze on corporate travel. According to the TRI Europe HotStats survey for May, profitability and RevPAR fell across 10 European cities. Vienna, Brussels and Berlin all saw profitability decline by more than 30 per cent, while drops of more than 20 per cent were reported in Prague, Amsterdam and Paris. London remained the most profitable of the surveyed cities with an IBFCpar of £89.2 (Dh535), with Amsterdam in second place with £78.93.
Industry executives said marketing departments in hotel companies have been working overtime to locate new markets and segments to offset the declines. Most hotel companies have zeroed in on the Middle East.
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