Mubasher: Three Gulf countries in addition to Jordan have seen more than 800 keys in the hotel sector during the period from Q1-18 and Q1-19. This has resulted in a year-on-year increase of 4% in supply, according to a recent Colliers report on hotels in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Colliers expects the three GCC states, namely Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, as well as Jordan to see an additional 3,739 keys by the end of 2019.

This growth in the number of branded hotel keys, supply, depends mainly on the extent of delays that have often occurred historically.

From January to March 2019, the confirmed openings were the Hilton Garden Inn in Muscat, Oman with 232 keys; and Hyatt Regency in Kuwait City, Kuwait with 200 keys.

(Hyatt Regency in Kuwait City, Kuwait)

Except for Manama, Bahrain, all of the respective markets registered a plunge in RevPAR on an annual basis during Q1-19.

“Manama’s positive growth was largely attributed to increased demand especially in the month of March when it played host to the Formula 1 Grand Prix,” Colliers MENA Hotel Q1 report concluded.

Meanwhile, the high rate of RevPAR decline in the Kuwait City hotel market resulted from a correction to a strong performance in months of January and February 2018 when the city hosted various major events and festivals that levelled up performance levels.

By the end of 2021, hotel supply is expected to reach around 34,600 keys with Muscat contributing the largest share of supply with 11,900 keys.

Colliers MENA report expects hotel markets in Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Jordan to remain relatively stable in terms of RevPAR by FY 2019 compared to the 2018 performance.

The report also included two other GCC states, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, of which hotel performance varied.

Furthermore, Colliers MENA report said that “The Egyptian hotel market continues to improve with the return of key international markets and a growing regional demand from MENA markets.”