Rotana CEO: Last-Minute Gulf Bookings Make Q4 Hard To Predict

Photo Credit: Saadiyat Rotana in Abu Dhabi. Rotana Abu Dhabi hotel group Rotana’s CEO has cautioned against reading too much into current reservation data as booking windows narrow in the Gulf amid the uncertainty of the U.S.-Iran war. “Business on the books for Q4 is dramatically below last year’s levels. But our business on the books for August and September was also minimal, and those two months performed well,” CEO Philip Barnes said. “So, that is not an indicator of how the quarter is going to perform. It's neither doom and gloom nor gangbuster business until such time as the region settles down.” Russia and Germany are among the source markets starting to return, Barnes said, and both remain focus points for Rotana — though volumes haven’t recovered to where they stood before the war. China and India are also a great support to the region, he added. Citing a narrowing booking window, Barnes said one Rotana property recently took a booking for 45 German tourists with two days’ no