Dubai hospitality gets a nine-day breather during Eid al-Adha holidays

After months of war-driven disruption that battered the UAE’s hospitality sector, hotels across Dubai and Abu Dhabi are gearing up for a temporary respite during the nine-day Eid al-Adha holidays beginning Saturday, with several properties reporting a sharp surge in bookings driven by staycations and family travel.

Industry executives said occupancy levels, which had plunged to nearly single digits in some cases at the peak of the regional conflict, are now set for a revival.

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While top hotels are estimating a 90-100% occupancy rate during the peak days of the Eid break, industry average is expected at 70-80%.

“This year's Eid surge has thrown something of a lifeline to the Dubai hospitality industry, after what could be called a near-death experience earlier…This is the biggest boom in domestic tourism since the war started, and it's more from staycation UAE residents,” said Anuj Kejriwal, CEO EMEA, ANAROCK Group. Occupancy across several hotels had fallen to 15-20% in mid-March, after the Iran conflict caused international travel to reach the kind of low previously only seen during the Covid pandemic, he added.

Saurabh Tiwari, area director for the Middle East region at Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) said that Eid break has provided a strong boost to the UAE hospitality sector, driven by robust staycation demand, GCC leisure travel, and international visitors choosing Dubai during festive periods. “At Taj Downtown and Taj JLT, we expect occupancy to grow by 70% to 75% over a regular baseline occupancy of 40% to 45% during the Eid holidays, alongside an average daily rate (ADR) growth of 15% to 20%,” he said adding that even traditionally corporate-led hotels witnessed stronger leisure demand during festive periods,” he said. As for its resort property at The Palm, it is anticipating its ADR to grow by 60% to 70%, while occupancy is projected to increase by 35% to 40% compared to a regular weekend in May.

Experts attributed the high local demand to disruption in air travel and higher cost.

“Not all airlines are fully operational from the UAE yet. Besides, higher fuel prices have pushed up ticket prices significantly…As a result, UAE residents are increasingly looking at staycations for the upcoming long Eid break.”said Sandeep Ganediwalla, managing partner, RedSeer Middle East. He added that while family friendly resorts and value centric properties will get a boost during the extended break, it will be at lower than normal revenue per available room (RevPAR). “So, it is a short term breather for hotels and inbound tourist recovery will still be critical for a sustained recovery for the sector,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deepak Jain, founder of Mayfair Consultants said that hotel occupancy across the region has grown by 10% over the previous month and seems to be more steady than before. Anurag Jain, EVP, APMEA, at RateGain said according to the company's data, booking volumes for next week are currently pacing nearly 76% higher week-on-week, while room nights have increased by approximately 28%. "At the same time, booking value has risen by close to 39%, alongside an almost 9% increase in average daily room rates," he added.

Several private sector companies have also joined the nine-day break and are offering leaves from May 23, instead of May 26, alongside public sector and school holidays, boosting last minute bookings.

“We have seen a spike in reservation activity over the last two weeks, with peak bookings seen between May 27 and May 29. Once more private sector firms announced the extended off, bookings accelerated further,” said a senior executive at a major hotel in Abu Dhabi.

Hotel operators said that many properties that had reduced staffing or cut shifts during the slowdown were now scrambling to ramp up manpower ahead of the holiday rush.

“As bookings dried up in March, many F&B, front office, and spa professionals either returned to their own countries or to other markets. Most hotels are now urgently recalling their workers or hiring temporary staff to meet the sudden spike in demand,” said Kejriwal.

The rebound comes even as the sector continues to face the fallout of months of geopolitical tensions, disrupted travel flow, weakened conference activity, and reduced international tourists.

The Dubai government on Thursday announced a AED 1.5-billion support package for key sectors, including hospitality and tourism to cushion businesses from the prolonged impact of the regional conflict. The measures include suspending collection of 7% municipal fees on sales of hotel rooms and restaurants, exemption of collection of Tourism Dirham, and waiver of several permits and event-related charges.

Several hotels and resorts have rolled out aggressive Eid offers, including “Kids Stay and Dine Free” packages, discounted room rates, and bundled entertainment deals to drive occupancy during the long break.

Kejriwal noted that the expected eid occupancy levels of 70-80% were still lower than 84% seen in early 2026 before the war, but is a significant improvement from the lows of the second quarter.