Dubai: Hotels in the UAE showed stronger performance in August compared to other cities in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, a new HotStats survey published by TRI Hospitality Consulting revealed.

The hotel performance was boosted by events and activities in Dubai. During the month of August, average room rates (ARR) for Dubai hotels increased by 11.3 per cent to $228.99, while occupancy was up 8.5 per cent to 71.3 per cent, which boosted revenue per available room (RevPAR — an industry benchmark for performance) by 26.4 per cent to $163.35.

In addition, total revenue per available room (TRevPAR) was up 20.1 per cent, which helped increase gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) by 98.3 per cent to $70.63.

“The three-day Eid holiday is traditionally the busiest weekend of the year, with GCC source markets contributing to the vast majority of foreign visitors driving the occupancy at four and five star hotels upwards of 90 per cent. The overall growth witnessed throughout the city is also attributed to Dubai diversifying its entertainment offering to attract visitors through a vast array of shows and events,” Peter Goddard, managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting, said in a statement.

Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi, occupancy at four and five-star hotels grew by 12.4 per cent to reach 63.1 per cent on average, while ARR was up 5.5 per cent to $112.12 in August over the same time last year. This drove RevPAR to reach $70.74, up 31.3 per cent, and TRevPAR to stand at $159.00.

Additionally, GOPPAR increased to $13.21 over the same time a year ago.

Other countries

In Kuwait, meanwhile, occupancy improved slightly in August, rising by 3.4 per cent to 37 per cent, while ARR was up 12 per cent to $271.72, which helped RevPAR to grow by 23.3 per cent.

Cairo hotels, however, faced declining occupancy levels in August to 20.4 per cent, down 22.1 per cent, which pushed RevPAR to fall by 44.7 per cent to $24.41. But average rates were up 15.2 per cent to $119.62.

In Sharm Al Shaikh, ARR increased by 13.4 per cent to $52.66, but occupancy was down 12.7 per cent over August last year. RevPAR dropped 7.2 per cent to $30.10.

“The security situation [in Egypt] will continue to negatively impact the tourism industry and the ramifications of tour operators cancelling trips will be seen on room rates in following months,” Goddard said.

Jeddah too posted low occupancy levels for the same month, which dropped 10.1 per cent to 69 per cent. The drop was “due to intensive competition from other regional destinations such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi”, according to the survey. This caused RevPAR to fall by 7.3 per cent to 188.85.

In Riyadh, RevPAR was up 9.9 per cent to $72.30 in August, helped by a 1.5 increase in occupancy and a 4.6 per cent growth in average rates.