Al Ain hotels want lower event fee

Officials at Al Ain's four- and five-star hotels claim the ADTA's fees are a major drawback to attracting top-flight entertainment to Al Ain.

AL AIN // Operators of top hotels in Al Ain are asking the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) to reduce the fees it charges for one-off events, arguing that their market cannot bear the same cost as hotels in the capital. Officials at the city's four- and five-star hotels claim the ADTA's fees are a major drawback to attracting top-flight entertainment to Al Ain.

"Having to pay fees of up to Dh5,000 [US$1,360] for an event prevents us from holding the kind of events we would really like to hold," said Charles Saliba, the food and beverage manager at the Intercontinental Hotel. "Al Ain visitors and residents spend Dh100 on average at special events so I would need 50 people to show up to just cover the Adta fees.Then there is the cost of bringing in a world-renowned DJ, for example, and putting him up in the hotel and bringing him to Al Ain."

Hotel executives believe the Adta fees hurt tourism in the inland city. "I'm confident if the fees were reduced the Intercontinental would hold special events like those held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai," Mr Saliba said. Ayman Gharib, the general manager of the Al Ain Rotana, would like to see the fees reduced by 30 per cent. "Al Ain's market is different to that of Abu Dhabi," he said, adding that hotel restaurants have about half as many customers as similar hotels in Abu Dhabi, and that the average check was "lower by approximately 30 per cent".

Nasser al Reyami, the director of tourism standards at the ADTA, dismissed the idea that Al Ain hotels deserved a special fee schedule. "ADTA does not believe the case put forward is pertinent as we are in receipt of the revenues of the entertainment venues in Al Ain and know that they are profitable," Mr al Reyami said. "We cannot disclose these revenues out of confidentiality [and] respect for our stakeholders, but we can tell you that there are no loss-making events or venues.

"It is up to hotels and other venues to stage entertainment and successfully market it. ADTA assists in this marketing." He said the charges were the same throughout the emirate and ranged from Dh200 for a three- to six-month permit for an entertainer to Dh5,000 for major concert promotions. Al Ain hotel executives agreed that their events were profitable but said a reduction in fees would enable them to hold bigger events, thus drawing more visitors to the city.