DOHA: Hospitality market in Qatar saw a four percent year-over-year decrease in room yield for January-November in 2013, while it maintained a 65 percent occupancy rate for the first 11 months of 2013 and 2012.
The decline in RevPAR is largely due to a 3.4 percent dip in the average room rate for the period from QR951 for the January-November period in 2012 to QR919 for the corresponding period in 2013, said Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey Report by EY.
RevPAR or revenue per available room is a performance metric in the hotel industry, which is calculated by multiplying a hotel’s average daily room rate (ADR) by its occupancy rate.
The survey for November said the hospitality market in Doha saw a dip of three percent in its occupancy rates year-over-year.
But the sector saw a 16.1 percent decrease in RevPAR in November 2013, when the average room rate fell from QR1,052 in November 2012 to QR916.
The report provides performance overview of leading hotels in the Middle East. The hotel set includes international branded and operated properties across the five- and four-star segments.
The trend is similar across the major markets such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia in the GCC except for Oman and Bahrain.
However, the report said, “With the peak season having started, the region is setting up for a successful incline in hotel occupancy.”
For November 2013, occupancy rates in Muscat increased by 12 percent with ADR dropping by 0.4 percent resulting in an overall increase in RevPAR of 16.5 percent compared to the same time in the previous year.
Bahrain experienced a three percent increase in the occupancy with ADR declining by two percent and RevPAR increasing overall by 5.3 percent compared to November 2012.
“The UAE’s hospitality market registered a slight drop in RevPAR performance when compared to November 2012.
“However, about 2,950 new branded hotel rooms were added to Dubai’s hotel supply and Dubai’s hospitality market has rapidly absorbed this supply and continues to perform exceptionally well,” said Yousef Wahbah, Mena Head of Transaction Real Estate at EY.
Abu Dhabi also increased its supply of four- and five-star hotels during 2013, by introducing about 1,700 new branded hotel rooms.
In Saudi Arabia, the hospitality market registered a decline and the major reason for the slump has been attributed to reduction in the number of arrivals to the kingdom due to fears over the MERS virus. The Peninsula
