Dubai: Average room rates in Dubai’s hotels jumped 11.4 per cent in April 2017 to reach $279 (Dh1,025) from $251 in April 2016, driven by increased demand from the leisure segment.
According to the latest report from HotStats, a data provider, hotels in Dubai recorded a 5.4 percentage point increase in room occupancy to reach 87.8 per cent in April. The growth in demand helped hotels in Dubai secure the highest increases in top-line and bottom line performance in recent years following a period of slower operations.
Total revenue per available room rose 13 per cent in April, also supported by lower costs as hotels were able to trim their costs, with a 1.9 percentage point drop in payroll. The drop in costs coupled with higher revenues pushed profits per room up 20.7 per cent during the month, HotStats said.
“Dubai hoteliers will be hoping the growth this month represents the beginning of the recovery after the recent torrid period of operation following the crash in oil prices,” the report said.
Elsewhere in the region, hotels in Manama recorded a 32 per cent jump in profit per room in April 2017 supported by record-breaking room occupancy levels as a result of the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hotels in the Bahraini capital recorded a 10.4 percentage point increase in room occupancy, which reached 69 per cent, the highest monthly room occupancy level in Manama for a number of years, HotStats said.
Average room rates in Manama rose 2 per cent year-on-year to reach $194, with the growth rate only exceeding once in the last 18 months (in December 2016), further highlighting the benefit of the Grand Prix to hoteliers in the city.
In Kuwait, hotels recorded a 11 per cent increase in profit per room in April on the back of a 6.9 per cent increases in total revenue per room as hoteliers cut costs. Occupancy rates in Kuwait in April rose 5.3 percentage points as average room rates rose 2.7 per cent.
