Eat Drink Stay Dubai Newsletter: Wk 43

The news worth knowing this week about Dubai

🛬 British Airways returns to Abu Dhabi after 4 years

Whilst Dubai is where it’s at, one can’t ignore the value of Abu Dhabi as a connection point given it’s often cheaper for flights.

British Airways are restarting their Abu Dhabi flights from 20 Apr 2024, AND they’ll be using the new Midfield Terminal A (which was recently seen in Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1).

Even better still, there are deals to be had if you book before 12 Nov 2023.

Flights are available to book with Avios, and there are mininum of 4 seats guaranteed. Have a read at the (always excellent) Head for Points for more info and tips.

🏨 Limited Time Special Offer: Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah

Here’s a great deal to grab: flights, upgrade & Half Board (Dine Around) at Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah for up to 40% off.

Want more deals like this?

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💸 Some decent flight deals sloshing around …

If you’re prepared to ‘position’ yourself, there are some amazing flights deals to be had.

Etihad were recently heavily discounting (again!!) - like €141 return! - to fly from Rome to Abu Dhabi (AUH).

Saudia continue to offer some excellent details, if you can do without having a ‘proper drink’ on board of course, such as €306 return from Paris.

💡 TOP TIP: IF you are looking for cheap flights to Dubai/UAE, definitely do shop around and consider booking the return from a cheaper, non-UK destination. Not only does this save massively on Air Passenger Duty (APD), but the fare cost is often cheaper also because UK>UAE is a ‘busy’ route with high load factors. Also consider a strategic purchase of points/miles, especially with bonuses.

❓️ Something to Ponder: Dubai Hotels Revenue (and rates) continue to rise… or do they?

Dubai loves spin, and everyman and his dog seem to be publishing reports about how good the hotels are doing.

For instance, this one reports the hotels have had the best September since 2016. However, a bit of balance is needed… September is always a slow month locally as it comes out of shoulder season and the weather still needs to calm down a bit.

September 2023 (year-over-year % change):

• Occupancy: 77.6% (+10.0%)

• Average daily rate (ADR): AED457.21 (+2.7%)

• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): AED354.94 (+13.5%)

In addition to the high occupancy, ADR was Dubai’s highest for a September since 2017.

The thing to remember when reading any report about Dubai hotels though is - Dubai still has a massive oversupply of hotel rooms.

I’d suggest it’s more accurate to say - just because some hotels are inflating rates, doesn’t mean they all are. Also, occupancy is just as important a metric as Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) and Average Daily Rate (ADR).

Most importantly of all, many hotels are actually cutting back on their ‘value proposition’ (operations, staffing, cost-cutting & supplements) so what one thinks they may be getting may not be. Take the abundance of ‘pool passes’ now available for Dubai hotels…. how would you feel as a paying guest if you couldn’t get a peaceful day at the pool because of partying walk ups?

The biggest takeway of this whole debate is …. DO shop around, DO your ‘due dilgence’ on the property (trusted reviews, call them to see if everything’s open eg restaurants) and know what the ‘gettable price’ is for the hotel. Hint: it’s often NOT what the agent may be selling it at.

If you’d like to more about how to squeeze the best value out of Dubai… drop me a line (by hitting ‘Reply’ to this email) and let me know what I can help you with.

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