JEDDAH, 21 November 2004 — Jeddah remains a favorite destination for Eid visitors from all over the Kingdom. Most hotels and furnished apartments reported heavy demand during the Eid with some of them claiming 100 percent occupancy.
“Demand was overwhelming, both from Umrah pilgrims and ordinary visitors,” a hotel manager said.
As a result, room rates were high with an ordinary hotel room being quoted at SR220 per day.
“Although it is normal practice to book hotel rooms at least a month in advance, not many seemed to have followed that practice. There were many who chose to visit the city without prior arrangements and faced problems finding a place to stay,” said Ali Abbas, a manager in a four-star hotel.
Some visitors found the room rates “incredibly” high. Said Ali Mousa from Riyadh, “I was shocked to see the prices of hotel rooms. Some of the rates quoted were so high that I wondered whether they were being monitored by the tourism committee (of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry).”
“I’m aware of the practice among hotels and apartment owners to jack up prices during this season, so I took my family to the beach in south Jeddah,” Hassan Al-Harbi, a Makkah resident, said.
Ali Al-Zahrani said he could not afford the high prices in hotels and so he spent the Eid night on the beach. “The cheapest room I found was SR350 per night so after spending the night on the beach, I returned to Abha,” he said.
Yahya Ateq admitted, “It was a mistake not to have booked a room in advance.”
Talal Al-Mutairi of Abha said: “We’re used to spending our vacation in Jeddah every year. This time, we decided to spend the vacation at one of the cabins in North Jeddah. The price quoted was SR12,000 for five days. It then occurred to me that it would be cheaper to spend the time abroad.”
Furnished apartments are in great demand during the Eid, especially by Saudi families who prefer them because of the kitchens, a Saudi housewife explained.
“One of the main problems that we apartment owners have is that families come in large numbers without prior reservations and then complain of high prices. Most hotels increase room rates during the holiday peak to make up for losses suffered during lean times,” Al-Khaleej Palace Manager Raed Sheikh said.
Most of the visitors Arab News spoke to wondered what the tourist committee was doing to encourage citizens to spend vacations in the Kingdom.
