Mecca hotel prices up tenfold for Haj

Earlier bookings prompt hoteliers to predict higher demand and leads to cost increases.

Hotel rooms in Mecca during the Haj pilgrimage in November are selling for almost 10 times off-season prices as demand is expected to be much higher than last year. Many visitors stayed away from Mecca during the annual pilgrimage last year as fears of swine flu swept the world.

But this year soaring prices suggest hoteliers are expecting visitors in record droves. The Moevenpick Hotel & Residence Hajar Tower Makkah is charging between 45,000 Saudi Arabian riyals (Dh44,071) and 65,000 riyals for 13 nights during Haj. A room during September at the hotel, meanwhile, can be booked for as little as 6,435 riyals for 13 nights. Rates in Mecca have returned to 2008 levels, said Omar Boujlid, the general manager of the Moevenpick Hotel & Residence Hajar Tower Makkah.

And analysts say the Moevenpick Hotel is not alone. "Everybody is looking for a better operational environment this year," said Chiheb ben Mahmoud, the senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels in the MENA region. "There's more visibility," he said, referring to the travel and visa bans that were imposed last year because of the H1N1 virus. "It's not like the uncertainty of last year." But, he added, quotas were still limited and the authorities were still cautious about allowing too many pilgrims into the country as they work on longer-term plans to improve tourism infrastructure in Mecca.

"This is why it will not be a huge difference," he said. "It will not be a boom." Data from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in the US show1,613,000 pilgrims from overseas participated in Haj last year, down from 1,729,841 pilgrims the previous year. Mr ben Mahmoud said early indications from the Umrah pilgrimages this Ramadan were positive. "This year Umrah is rather active and could set the tone for Ramadan." He said that last year a number of unbranded hotels near the Grand Mosque were demolished to make way for the expansion of the Haram.

Mr Boujlid said: "This year has shown earlier bookings versus last year, which [were mainly made up of] last-minute bookings due to [fears over] swine flu." Branded hotels in Mecca generally sell their rooms to tour operators and run at 100 per cent occupancy during Haj. Some tour operators say the price of Haj packages are expected to increase by between 10 and 25 per cent this year. "Due to the expected increased costs this year, Haj is not affordable for the majority of people," said Mohammed Sohail at Al Hamar Hajj Services based in Dubai. "The Haj quota is limited and the cost of Haj is increasing every year."

Some of the improvements to infrastructure are already in place. This year, a new US$1.8 billion (Dh6.61bn) metro, the first in the holy city, is expected to start operating a limited service during Haj. The system is expected to ease transport problems between the holy sites, which in the past have led to deaths caused by overcrowding. Also, more luxurious accommodation offerings will be available. Earlier this month, the 213-suite Raffles Makkah Palace hotel, overlooking the Grand Mosque and Kaaba, opened at the Abraj Al Bait complex, which is a seven-tower development. An 858-room Fairmont Hotel, which is located in the same complex, is also expected to open some of its rooms in time for this year's Haj.

More than 2 million pilgrims attend the Haj each year, and a total of 7.8 million Muslims visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina each year on the Haj and Umrah. [e-mail]