Okaz/Saudi Gazette DAMMAM — Increased demand has led rest house owners in the Eastern Province to raise rents by 150 to 200 percent during the first three days of the Eid Al-Fitr. The prices ranged from SR2,500 to SR3,500 a day. The rent during normal days is between SR1,000 and SR1,500. Rest house owners compete with each other to attract families during high seasons by giving promotional offers, such as free meal delivery from restaurants. Abdulmuhsin Al-Saleh criticized the high rents as outright exploitation. He complained that some rest house owners take advantage of Saudi families' desire to get away from the cities and visit farms to enjoy the beautiful scenery and weather in rural areas. "The rest house owners hike the rents to unjustified and illogical levels," Al-Saleh said. Abdulaziz Al-Nasser said: "The amounts charged by rest house owners for a stay of a few hours are unimaginable. This is outright cheating. One cannot imagine such exorbitant amounts are charged for a meager service. The rest house owners know that there is high demand and this causes them to unjustifiably hike the rents." Muhammad Al-Ayidh, a rest house owner, said the demand for renting rest houses for Eid would start only in the middle of Shaaban unlike the bookings for weddings, which has to be done at least four months in advance. Al-Ayidh added: "The rents of rest houses for Eid feasts rise by 100 percent due to the high demand. The rents can reach up to SR3,500 from SR700-SR1,200 during ordinary days." He said at the same time the rents for holding weddings is between SR7,000 and SR15,000 per night due to many additional services provided. He said the rest house owners take a deposit of between SR300 and SR1,000 from heads of families before renting for Eid. This amount is deposit against any damage to electrical appliances and the like. Muhammad Al-Hamid, another rest house owner, said the demand for renting rest houses begins to rise from the month of Rajab itself. "We receive many calls for booking for Eid Al-Adha immediately after the end of Ramadan."
