UAE Hotels Give Up on Q4, Hope for 2027 Recovery

Skift Take Hoteliers are getting occupancy back faster than rate — and it’s that gap, not just the war itself, pushing full recovery to 2027. Hotel operators at the Arabian Travel Market trade show in Dubai this week agreed on one thing: full recovery isn’t coming this year. “We expect a full recovery of travel volumes from Europe and the U.S. in the second quarter of 2027,” said Victor Abou-Ghanem, CEO of Story Hospitality, which operates the H Hotel Dubai and Al Maya Island & Resort in Abu Dhabi. “A recovery in Q4 this year is too soon.” Phillipa Harrison, CEO of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, agreed international demand won’t fully recover this year. “Some neighboring markets will be back by Q1,” she told Skift. “Other markets like Germany might not be back until Q4 next year. That last 10 to 15% takes a little while to come back. And advisories don’t help either.” Though the recovery has started, business won’t revert to 2024-2025 levels until Q4 2027, said Saurabh Tiwari, the Indian Hotels Company Limited’s (IHCL) vice president of