Dubai: Hotels in the Middle East and Africa reported a decline in average daily rate (ADR) in October for a second month this year, according to a report by research company STR Global.
While ADR dropped 2.4 per cent to $182.34 (Dh669.73) year-on-year in October, occupancy rose 7.2 per cent to 67.6 per cent, and as a result, revenue per available room (RevPAR — an industry benchmark for performance) increased by 4.6 per cent to $123.19.
“Because of the 7.2-per cent occupancy growth driven by countries such as Egypt and Lebanon, October still ended with positive RevPAR growth,” Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global, said in a statement.
In the UAE, hotels recorded an occupancy rate of 79.2 per cent, slightly down by 1.1 per cent compared to October last year, while ADR dropped 2.7 per cent to reach Dh858.61, resulting in RevPAR to slide 3.7 per cent to Dh680.38.
Abu Dhabi had the largest ADR decrease — down 9.2 per cent to $154.75 year-on-year.
“The UAE’s hospitality market witnessed a growth in occupancy and ADR through August and September 2014,” Yousuf Wahbah, head of Transaction Real Estate at EY, said in a statement.
In September, Dubai hotel occupancy grew by 2.2 per cent year-on-year to 77 per cent and ADR dropped 7.1 per cent to Dh739. This caused RevPAR to decline 4.4 per cent to Dh569, as per a report by global consultancy EY.
Over in Abu Dhabi, hotel occupancy was slightly higher than in Dubai in September at 78 per cent, while ADR touched Dh576 and RevPAR reached Dh454.
Elsewhere in the region, Saudi Arabia hotels saw occupancy decline 4.5 per cent year-on-year in October to 60.2 per cent, ADR dropped 3 per cent to 998.80 Saudi riyals (Dh977.08), which led RevPAR to decrease by 7.5 per cent to 600.86 Saudi riyals, according to STR Global’s report.
In Egypt, hotel occupancy touched 60.8 per cent, up 72.6 per cent year-on-year, and ADR grew by 35.7 per cent to 638.45 Egyptian pounds, resulting in RevPAR to jump 134.2 per cent to 388.03 Egyptian pounds.
