Lebanon’s Hotel Industry Lost Momentum Due to Recent Upheavals

According to Ernst & Young Middle East hotel benchmark survey, looking at the month of September alone, Beirut’s occupancy rate lost ground, declining by 3 percentage points (p.p). to 53% from September 2014, due to the ongoing political unrest and demonstrations during the month. Concerning Lebanon’s revenue (RevPAR), it gained 2.4% to $171 while the average daily rate (ADR) lost 3% to $92.

During the first 9 months of this year, Lebanon’s occupancy rate stood at 56% and ranked 5th amongst the MENA countries at 56%, ahead of Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, while losing to Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman. Notably, Dubai still leads with a 79% rate   during the first nine months of the year.

Beirut’s occupancy rate increased by 6 p.p. to 56% in the first 9 months of 2015, while Cairo’s occupancy rate improved by 13 p.p. to 47%, registering the highest annual improvement. It’s worth mentioning that these improvements follow a low base considering the uncertainty pertaining to the Lebanese and Egyptian political scenes. The latter development mainly is attributed to the better economic and political outlook in Egypt since last year.

Over the same period, the largest downturn in 4 and 5 star hotels’ occupancy rate was in Amman, Jordan, which lost 8 p.p yearly to 55% followed by Muscat which also recorded a 3 p.p. y-o-y decrease to 64% by September. The former fall might have been due of the heightened political risk in the country, following the participation in airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The third biggest loser was Manama, Bahrain which lost a yearly 3 p.p to 47%.

Regarding Lebanon’s ADR and RevPar, they added 4.5% and 17.20% to $179 and $101, respectively. In Cairo, the ADR surged 27.1% to $112, while it’s RevPar increased by more than three forth to reach $54 up to September of this year. Not surprisingly, Dubai’s ADR and RevPar were the highest in the region at $243 and $193 respectively, despite losing 6.7% and 6.0% y-o-y, over the same period.

 

Lebanon’s Monthly Occupancy Rate

Lebanon’s Hotel Industry Lost Momentum Due to Recent Upheavals

Source: EY Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey

 

 

 

 

 

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