Earlier Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr celebrations had positive impact on Dubai hotel performance

Analysis by Kostas Nikolaidis

This year, the month of Ramadan began fairly early compared to previous years. The Islamic holiday commenced on Monday, 11 March, and concluded on Tuesday, 9 April – lasting over four weeks. Combined with the Easter holiday weekend (29 March – 1 April) and a peak tourist season in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai hotels saw positive performance during this time period.

Occupancy boost during Eid al-Fitr

As expected, Dubai hotel occupancy dipped slightly at the beginning of Ramadan, with occupancy fluctuating between 60 - 74%, with the exception of the Easter weekend when Dubai saw occupancy levels climb as high as 78.9% on 29 March (the Friday before Easter Sunday).

That, however, shifted during the week of Eid, which fell on Wednesday, 10 April (81.6%), when Dubai hotels saw a jump in occupancy levels, peaking on Friday, 12 April (at 92.9%). This was also helped by the UAE government declaring a public holiday from Monday, 8 April through Friday, 12 April, which constituted nine days off work in total, considering the weekends on both ends.

Compared to the 2023 Ramadan & Eid celebrations, Dubai’s hotel industry reported improved performance year over year. Last year, Ramadan began on Wednesday, 22 March, with Eid falling on Friday, 21 April. During that period, the market saw its highest occupancy levels on Saturday, 22 April (at 90.4%), with occupancy at 80.4% on the night of Eid al-Fitr – those levels were lower than what was recorded this year.

It is important to note that Ramadan shifts approximately two weeks earlier each year. It has recently moved into Q1, which is peak tourism season in Dubai. In the past, Ramadan hotel performance was notably subdued. But as it moves towards the winter there is still enough leisure demand to sustain performance at pretty decent levels. The lack of major events and corporate demand is now somewhat offset by seasonality, which is great news for the industry.

Room rates told a similar story

While not as obvious, Dubai's average daily rate (ADR) followed a similar pattern as occupancy, with the market posting a slight decline in the metric at the beginning of Ramadan. That changed when taking place during the same time as the Easter Holidays, when Dubai posted the highest room rate levels (AED901.25 on 30 March) during the entire Ramadan and Eid period.

The night before Easter was the only day those levels surpassed the AED900 mark. When looking at the Ramadan month last year, the market’s ADR also peaked the night before Easter (8 April 2023, at AED887.29).

Looking merely at the week of Eid, the highest ADR levels were posted on Thursday, 11 April (at AED891.48) – the night after the Eid al-Fitr celebrations. The same was seen last year, when Dubai’s highest ADR levels were recorded on Saturday, 22 April (at AED777.12), also the night after Eid al-Fitr.

With leisure demand rebounding during Eid, as usual, occupancies above 90% were observed on 11-12 April. The extended Eid holidays announced in most Middle East countries led to tourism demand dispersion across the whole week of Eid and drove consistent performance over a longer time period.