Dubai: Hotels in the UAE posted a decline in occupancy during the first quarter of the year compared to the same period a year ago, according to the latest report by global consultancy EY.
Properties in Dubai and Abu Dhabi saw occupancy drop one per cent to 88 per cent and 82 per cent respectively in the first three months of the year, while occupancy across Al Ain hotels touched 70 per cent, marking a two per cent drop.
In March, occupancy declined slightly in Dubai’s hotels (0.1 per cent) to 89.5 compared to the same period in 2013, while it rose one per cent to 86 per cent in Abu Dhabi’s properties.
While Yousef Wahbah, head of transaction real estate at EY for the Middle East and North Africa, did not provide reasons for the drop in occupancy during the first quarter, he said the decline in Dubai’s overall average occupancy in March was mainly due to “the drop in Dubai Beach hotels, which witnessed a decline in average daily rates of approximately 5.4 per cent, coupled by a slight decline in occupancy of on per cent.”
The downward trend is expected to continue across Dubai’s hotels during the summer months, according to Wahbah.
“There is a decline in occupancy expected for the Dubai hotel market, in line with seasonal declines witnessed in previous years. These declines are typical of the summer months and tourism patterns of the city,” he told Gulf News in an emailed statement.
Wahbah added that occupancy will pick up after the summer period as the city becomes cooler.
Meanwhile, average room rates (ARR) during the first quarter fell 8.5 per cent in the capital to $216, while it stood at $323 in Dubai, up 4.3 per cent and at $144 in Al Ain, marking an increase of 2.1 per cent.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR- a benchmark for performance) dropped 9.7 per cent to $178 in Abu Dhabi hotels and 1.1 per cent to $102 in Al Ain properties. Dubai hotels, however, saw RevPAR grow by three per cent to $286.
Elsewhere in the region, occupancy was up seven per cent in Riyadh to 71 per cent and grew by five per cent to 70 per cent in Doha. However, occupancy was down in Beirut, Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh, where it touched 39 per cent, 27 per cent and 55 per cent, marking a drop of 17 per cent, one per cent and four per cent, respectively.
