Leuven hotel cancels all bookings to accommodate Sultan of Oman

A luxury hotel in Leuven has cancelled all of its Christmas holiday bookings to make room for the Sultan of Oman.

Qabus ibn Saïd and his entourage have block-booked every room at The Fourth, on Leuven's Grote-Markt, for two months.

The 79-year-old, who has been in power since 1970, has health problems and is being treated at UZ Leuven university hospital until the end of January.

The four-star hotel's 42 deluxe rooms had been fully booked over the Christmas holidays.

"The people who booked have been transferred to other hotels," said City of Leuven marketing director Steven Dusoleil.

He added: "We don't anticipate any capacity problems in the remaining hotels over December and January. Tourists are always welcome in Leuven, especially over this holiday season."