Qatar finally frees up hotel booking ahead of World Cup 2022

THOUSANDS of hotel rooms in Qatar that had previously been blocked off by the organisers of the Fifa 2022 World Cup are being released to the public for booking, even as some properties are still under construction less than two months before kick off.

The accommodations had been held back by Qatar’s Supreme Committee and the Fifa governing body to give priority to the teams in the competition, sponsors and their guests, officials, royal guests and fans who booked hospitality packages. Now, with the World Cup set to start on Nov 20, several thousand unallocated rooms are being released after a contractually agreed-upon deadline, said a source.

Hotel executives have been saying that more rooms would become available in early October, easing the crunch. “The availability picture will become much, much broader,” said Guy Hutchinson, president and chief executive of Rotana Hotel Management Corp, in an interview. “A lot of those concerns are going to be answered in the very short term.” He expects occupancy at his properties to be 90 per cent or higher for the duration of the tournament.

A spokesperson for Qatar said it is on track to provide 130,000 rooms for the tournament, and that more than 117,000 rooms are currently available. Lodging options include purpose-built housing, tents, Airbnb-style accommodations and at least two cruise ships with almost 4,000 cabins. 

The country and its largely immigrant labour force have been working non-stop to get the country ready, including an overhaul of sewage systems to handle the 1.2 million fans estimated to come through for the month-long event. The bulk of visitors will come in the first two weeks of the tournament, and many will fly in and out on the same day, stay in neighbouring countries like the United Arab Emirates. Qatar reopened a secondary airport to the public to handle a surge in flights.

The stadiums, mostly built from scratch, are done. But at least a half-dozen hotels, including five-star properties, are still under construction with the goal of completing work by Nov 1. Some plan to open all their rooms and restaurants; others will have only a portion of their rooms available in time for the tournament.

Some of the so-called fan villages – including rows and rows of quickly-built housing resembling mobile homes or shipping containers visible from the air – are still being worked on.

The tournament’s official website still shows very limited availability in hotel rooms for the first few nights before any teams are eliminated.

More rooms, however, are available on hotels’ individual booking sites. The new Rixos Gulf Hotel Doha, for example, recently started taking bookings for the tournament. It opens the all-inclusive property Oct 23, with available rooms on its website starting at 3,570 Qatari riyals (S$1,396) and running up to 33,320 riyals a night for the most luxurious suite.

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There are plenty of private homes – known as villas – available starting at 787 riyals per night, as well as apartments and properties that offer studios with hostel-like twin beds for 300 riyals a night. Tents and other spaces in fan villages are also available for between 407 and 1,512 riyals a night, with a two-night minimum stay. BLOOMBERG