Dubai’s hospitality sector shines again

Dubai: Dubai’s hospitality sector ranked top for hotel occupancy in the Middle East region, for the first ten months of 2014 compared to same period in 2013, according to Ernst & Young’s latest survey.

Dubai’s overall hotel occupancy jumped from 77 per cent in September to 83 per cent in October. — Reuters

Dubai is also on top in the region for average room rate for its beach properties during the January to October period this year, EY Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey Report for the month of October revealed on Tuesday. Monthly basis Dubai’s overall hotel occupancy jumped from 77 per cent in September to 83 per cent in October. Average room rates also increased from $201 in September to $320 in October, the survey report said. RevPar significantly jumped to $265 in October compared to $155 a month before.

Yousef Wahbah, Mena head of transaction real estate at EY said that the hospitality industry in the Mena region witnessed ongoing growth across key performance indicators (KPIs) in October 2014, continuing the recovery from the summer slowdown and moving towards the industry’s peak winter season.

Dubai’s hospitality market remained largely stable in October 2014, despite a slight decrease in occupancy compared to October 2013. Hotels across Dubai recorded a small drop in average occupancy by 0.3 per cent compared to the same time last year, despite the Eid Al Adha holiday as well as Gitex, the region’s largest consumer IT and electronics show, which took place in October 2014.

“This fall in occupancy can be attributed to the additional supply of hotel rooms, not a reduction of inbound travelers. Dubai also witnessed a slight decrease in ADR, from $324 in October 2013 to $320 in October 2014, resulting in a decline in RevPAR of 1.7 per cent in October 2014,” Wahbah said.

In the wider Mena region, the hospitality markets in Cairo, Doha, Beirut and Riyadh witnessed positive increases in October 2014. “With the relatively stable political situation in Cairo’s hospitality market, Egypt continued to witness significant growth in average occupancy, increasing from 19 per cent in October 2013 to 50 per cent in October 2014,” he said.

The increase in occupancy was coupled with a jump in ADR, from $72 in October 2013 to $112 in October 2014, resulting in another triple digit rise in RevPar by 300.6 per cent during the same period last year.

In Doha, the hospitality market also witnessed an increase in occupancy, from 67 per cent in October 2013 to 77 per cent in October 2014. The increase in occupancy was paired with a jump in ADR, from $253 in October 2013 to $272 in October 2014. This resulted in a rise in RevPar by 23.5 per cent in October 2014, when compared to October 2013. These increases can be attributed to many GCC nationals coming to Doha during the Eid Al Adha Holiday.

Beirut’s hospitality market continued its positive trend month over month, with average occupancy increasing from 49 per cent in October 2013 to 59 per cent in October 2014. This resulted in a rise in RevPar by 20.3 per cent from $83 in October 2013 to $100 in October 2014.

The hospitality market in Riyadh also witnessed positive increases, with overall occupancy increasing by 3 per cent and RevPar increasing by 9.1 per cent in October 2014.

“The hospitality market in the Mena region continued to recover in October, as we entered the peak season of the industry. With the winter months attracting more tourists and the seasonal increase in events and conferences, we can predict further increases in overall occupancy rates across the region. We expect this growth to continue into the beginning months of 2015,” Wahbah said.

— abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com