155,899 rooms under contract in the Middle East during July

Dubai: There were 155,899 rooms in 552 projects under contract in the Middle East and 56,227 rooms in 295 projects under contract in Africa in July, according to the latest report from research company STR.

Rooms under contract in the Middle East rose 18.8 per cent compared to July last year. The Middle East also reported 83,194 rooms in construction in 259 hotels, a 12.2 per cent increase year-on-year in July, according to STR’s July 2016 Pipeline Report.

The key markets in the Middle East that reported more than 20,000 rooms in construction are Makkah, Saudi Arabia (21,835 rooms in 13 hotels) and Dubai (20,882 rooms in 67 hotels). Two additional markets reported more than 5,000 rooms in construction: Doha, Qatar (6,830 rooms in 30 hotels), and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (6,657 rooms in 30 hotels).

A number of hotels are set to open in Makkah, including Starwood’s Sheraton Makkah Jabal Al Kaaba by year-end, Shaza Makkah (2017), and Swissôtel Al Maqam (2016).

Meanwhile, rooms under contract in Africa during July were up 23.8 per cent year-on-year, while rooms in construction reached 29,928 in 155 hotels, a 21.3 per cent increase year-on-year.