Beirut’s Hotel Occupancy Rate reached 51.7% by August 2022

According to Ernst & Young Middle East hotel benchmark survey, the occupancy rate in Beirut’s 4- and 5-star hotels reached 51.7% percentage points (pp) by August 2022, up from last year’s percentage of 44.6% while the average room rate in dollars currency has increased by 10.3% to stand at $66.1 by August 2022.

On a monthly performance, Beirut occupancy rate increased by 4.9% in August 2022 compared to August 2021, to reach 64%, however the occupancy rate was much higher in the previous month of July 2022, standing at 75%. Furthermore, the average room rate in dollars has increased by 18.9% from $73.3 in August 2021 to reach $87.1 in August 2022, whereas in the Lebanese pound, average room rate has increased by 104.7% to reach LBP 2,848,702 in August 2022. In turn, RevPAR (Revenue per available room) increased by 28.9% in USD during the same period: $43.3 in August 2021 to $55.8 in August 2022 while in Lebanese pound, the RevPAR added 121.8% to stand at LBP 1,823,253 in August 2022.

On a regional level, the occupancy rates in Dubai overall increased by 13.6% yearly to 70.8%. By the same token, the Average room rate and Room yields both increased by 34.8% and 66.8% to stand at $309 and $218, respectively by August 2022.

Furthermore, in KSA, Makkah and Madinah’s hotel occupancy rate increased respectively by 40.8% and 34.6% to reach 60.5% and 70.7% in August 2022; whereas, Riyadh’s hotel occupancy rate increased at a slower pace of 5.4% to reach 58.4% by August 2022. The average room rate reached the highest value in Jeddah at $243 by August 2022, followed by Makkah and Riyadh where the average room rate reached respectively $187 and $166 by August 2022. In fact, in 2022, post Covid-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia and specifically Makkah region, has benefitted to a great extent from a huge boom in tourism as they welcome more than one million pilgrims to the Hajj.

Moreover, in Amman, occupancy rate added 20.2% to reach 46.8% by August 2022, average room rate increased by 11.9% to reach $148 per night; likewise room yield grew by 98.8% to reach $69.4.

Lebanon has historically been a popular holiday destination within the Arab world, famed for its energetic party atmosphere, rich cultural history, and excellent cuisine. During the summer of 2022, after two years of Covid-19 lockdown and economic strife, Lebanon witnessed a robust tourism activity with increasing hotel occupancy rate”, but unfortunately it didn’t match the pre-crisis tourist seasons.

Source: EY, BlomInvest

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