Dubai -UAE hoteliers are slashing hotel room rates to entice travellers put off by the economic crisis and say their occupancy levels are at par with last year, refuting reports talking of double-digit declines.
"It did drop slightly at the start of the year, but then we dropped our prices by about 35 percent and it picked up again. Levels are on a par with last year."
A recent analyst report said revenue per available room fell as much as 41 percent and hotel occupancy in Dubai fell 15.8 percent in March. A report by STR Global estimated occupancy levels fell by 30 percent in the first three months of the year.
But UAE hoteliers say they have kept up occupancy while slashing prices by cutting costs.
