For the first time in the Middle East's history, visitors coming to the tiny nation Qatar will stay in Floating Hotels. It is a part of the nation's 40 billion US Dollar project to boost tourism in the country. It is also a preparatory step to accommodate over 60,000 guests expected to visit Qatar to watch the 2022 FIFA world cup tournament.
Visitors coming to Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup matches will get an opportunity to stay in these unique hotels. Until the end of 2019, the country has around 27,000 hotel rooms. These are lesser than by 33,000 rooms as needed to accommodate guests for the FIFA World Cup. Floating hotels will, therefore, help to cover the shortfall of providing guests substantially by filling this gap.
The Finnish construction company, Admares commissioned for this project, reported that they'd be transporting around sixteen identical luxury hotels to Qatar, starting in 2021. Currently, they are getting pre-assembled in a nearby shipyard on an off-site location. These will be four-story luxury hotels with all modern amenities, adding up around 1616 additional hotel rooms giving guests a luxury staying experience. These floating hotels will be placed on the coast near to the Lusail International Stadium, the inauguration site for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
On this occasion Admares's CEO, Mikael Hedberg said, “This is the first time that pure floating real estate has been used as a temporary solution for accommodation needs at this scale”.
Mikael Hedberg also mentioned in an exclusive news interview that these floating hotels would be energy efficient as they’ll run on solar power. They’ll also have restaurants, lounge bars, and even an outdoor terrace on the ground floor.
Sigge Architects, the Finnish architect firm, designed these unique floating hotels. Until now, there’s no news about the room rents per night. However, it’s expected to set at a reasonable price point with some capping on the higher side.
Russia, during the FIFA World Cup 2018, also did the same thing by capping per-night hotel rates at $8,355. Currently, some sports travel websites reported that the per-night rates for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, range between $1,500 to $3,000.
Hedberg further added that investors would own these floating hotels, and after the 2022 FIFA World Cup is over, they will sail away to other European and American cities. He also mentioned, “After the World Cup, the hotels can be placed at any coastal location where the water is at least 4 meters (13 feet) deep.”
Hedberg further praised Qatar's tourism and hospitality efforts. He said, “It is impressive what Qatar is doing. I don’t think ever in history, has so much been done in just one city”.
