Dubai has established itself as an international tourist and business destination of choice. Over 11.4 million visitors visited Dubai in 2022, which is three times higher than in 2021. Due to such factors, the average daily rate (ADR) in 2022 experienced a market-justified YOY increase.
The bleisure (business + leisure) trend that we started witnessing in 2021 carried forward strongly in 2022. We had a significant increase in corporate bookings in 2022. This was the domino effect as the world opened up to travel for pleasure and business.
Direct bookings also play a substantial role in the overall profitability of any hotel establishment. We observed an increase in bookings through our direct channels, such as our website and the IHG app. The relaunch of IHG’s loyalty program “IHG One Rewards” is a key contributor to the increase in direct bookings for us. It enables us to reduce customer/guest acquisition costs and get more repeat business from our guests which adds to the higher profitability.
Part of IHG’s Journey to Tomorrow objective is our Race to Zero commitment by 2030; a commitment which is becoming more and more important to colleagues, guests, clients and owners. In 2022, we worked on improving our energy, carbon and waste efficiencies, through initiatives such as a guest room management system, digitalization and food waste reduction and single-use item reduction. That not only supports us towards running a sustainable operation but also positively impacts our profitability by reducing cost. We had a phenomenal 2022 and we are certain that 2023 will be another chapter in our success story.
