Hotel occupancy grows to 76.3% in Dubai

Dubai: Hotel performance in Dubai improved last month, driven by cooler temperatures and the return of business in the city, according to preliminary data by research firm STR Global.

Occupancy edged up 0.3 per cent to 76.3 per cent, and average daily rate (ADR) declined by 4 per cent to Dh671.87, resulting in revenue per available room (RevPAR — a benchmark for performance) dropping 3.7 per cent to Dh512.83.

Meanwhile, supply and demand grew by 7.4 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively.

“Supply and demand for Dubai increases, while both high, kept pace with one another; therefore, the city was able to maintain the same occupancy levels as the year before,” stated Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global.

In August, Dubai’s hotel occupancy rose 2.1 per cent to 75.1 per cent, while ADR in the emirate fell 5.7 per cent to Dh682.21, and as a result, RevPAR declined 3.7 per cent to Dh512.25.

Winkle expects Dubai hotels’ RevPAR to grow by 2.2 per cent by the end of the year.

Since June last year, more than 7,000 rooms have been added in the emirate, bringing the total number to 88,680 across 634 properties, according to data by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.