Mubasher TV
Contact Us Advertising   العربية

Middle East hotel occupancy rises to 62.8% in 9M

Middle East hotel occupancy rises to 62.8% in 9M
Data compiled by STR Global showed that hotel occupancy rate in the Middle East/Africa region increased 3.6 % to 62.8 % during the first nine months of this year, according to Khaleej Times.
Average daily room rate, or ADR, was up 1.9 % to $161.62 while revenue per available room, or RevPAR, rose 5.7 % to $101.48.
“Year to date, the region has achieved 5.7-% RevPAR growth,” said Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global. “2014 has proved to be occupancy driven, compared to 2013 when performance was more rate driven.”
In September, in year-over-year comparisons, the region reported a 13.1-% increase in occupancy to 65.5 %, a 1.3-% increase in average daily rate to $145.12 and a 14.5-% increase in revenue per available room to $94.99.
The UAE had the highest occupancy rate at 72.9 % in September with an ADR of Dh575.83 and RevPAR of Dh419.85, a drop of 3.3 % and 3.4 % respectively. “All three sub-regions in September saw occupancy levels of 60 percent or above,” said Winkle. “It is positive to see consistency in performance in spite of instability leading to uncertainty in several countries.
“Among the high performers, Saudi Arabia is one of the region’s strongest in September as the country was gearing up for Hajj, which took place the first week in October,” said Winkle. “Cairo, while still in recovery mode, achieved occupancy levels of 51.8 % with significant year-over-year growth of 107.5 %.”
Cairo reported the largest occupancy increase, jumping 107.5 percent to 51.8 %. Beirut followed with a 60.9-% increase to 55.6 %.
Jeddah recorded the largest ADR increase (+14.7 % to $269.52, followed by Cairo (+12.7 % to $107.86 and Muscat, Oman (+11.8 % to $205.72).
Four markets achieved double-digit or more RevPAR growth: Cairo (+133.9 % to $55.82); Beirut (+68.0 % to $82.99); Jeddah (+21.9 % to $216.34); and Doha (+12.2 % to $127.50). Lagos experienced the largest decrease in all three key performance metrics. The market’s occupancy fell 35.4 % to 36.8 %; its ADR was down 11.3 % to $248.47; and its RevPAR decreased 42.7 % to $91.40. A new report published by Alpen Capital said the GCC hospitality industry would grow at an annual rate of 9.5 % to $35.9 billion by 2018, compared to the $22.8 billion in 2013.
According to the GCC Hospitality Industry Report, average occupancy rates are likely to be in the range of 68 % and 74 % between 2013 and 2018, while average daily rate is likely to average between $225 and $263 during the same period.
Saudi Arabia is expected to continue its dominance as the largest market in terms of revenues, followed by the UAE. Upcoming mega events in Qatar and UAE are expected to be the key growth drivers for the hospitality industry in these countries.