Dubai's QE2 to release more rooms

Dubai's floating hotel, the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2), will release more rooms in line with the demand in the market, a report said citing a senior official.

"QE2 was famous for entertainment where many celebrities visited the vessels and dined here. In the next phase of QE 2 development, we are coming up with a space for local artists and promote this field. QE2 has 1,000 rooms but we've opened only 240 rooms because this is not the right time to open all 1,000 rooms. Rather than launching everything at the same time, we are controlling supply and launching it in stages," Khaleej Times reported citing Hamza Mustafa, CEO of PCFC Investments, the operator of the vessel.

He said Port Rashid area, where QE2 is docked, will undergo a major redevelopment plan. The luxurious hotel ship will also be at the centre of a Dh25 billion ($6.8 billion) mega residential and commercial project to come up at Port Rashid, where the ship is docked, Hamza said at the opening of Kiklabb, a licensing and workspace business, at QE2.

Spread over an area of 25,000-sq-ft, with imminent plans of expansion, Kiklabb offers private offices, co-working spaces and flexi desks.

According to Colliers' data, Dubai currently has over 650,000-sq-ft of flexible and co-working space spread over 53 locations. The supply of co-working centres in the city, from both new market entrants and existing operators, will continue to increase with minimum 320,000 to 530,000-sq-ft of space expected to be dedicated toward this sector by the end of 2020, the report said.