We remember that at the end of February, travel agencies specialized in F1 races were complaining about the very high prices charged by hotels in Austin during the first edition of the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. Consequently, they might encourage their clients to choose other cities, such as San Antonio.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, other destinations are not in the same situation. At the forefront is Bahrain. The small kingdom has been in the spotlight of the international community due to the violent repression of protests, which led to the cancellation of the 2011 edition and raised significant doubts about the 2012 event. This has considerably damaged the country’s image, and the number of international visitors has clearly suffered as a result.<\/p>\n
It is in this context that the high-end hotels in the capital, Manama, are striving to maximize the occupancy of their rooms. Indeed, Hameed Al Halwachi, the president of the local Four Seasons, explains in the columns of the Gulf Daily<\/i>: In Bahrain, since the majority of visitors come from the region, very few stay overnight, but we are trying to attract them with special offers. Bahrain has a lot to offer for its regional and international visitors, and we will do our part to promote these attractions.<\/p>\n
This will result in aggressive promotional offers as the maximum price for 4-star hotel rooms will drop from \u20ac180 to \u20ac100, while the superior 5-star category will be available for around \u20ac300. These actions are coordinated among the different establishments so that the country can present a more positive image to international visitors.<\/p>\n
Hoteliers are also receiving more advance bookings compared to last year, when spectators and team staff had waited until the very last moment to make their reservations since they weren’t sure the event would actually take place.<\/p>\n
It is therefore interesting to see that a destination like Bahrain adopts a completely different strategy from a neighboring country like Abu Dhabi, where hotels in Marina Bay and the surrounding area fully benefit from their ideal location to charge very high rates to their customers. Thus, many people going to the circuit choose to take a room in Dubai, even though it is located more than 1.5 hours away by road.<\/p>\n