Beirut’s Hotel Occupancy Rate reached 51.3% by October 2022

According to Ernst & Young Middle East hotel benchmark survey, the occupancy rate in Beirut’s 4- and 5-star hotels reached 51.3% percentage points (pp) by October 2022, up from last year’s percentage of 43.7% while the average room rate in dollars currency has decreased by 2.2% to stand at $51 by October 2022.

On a monthly performance, Beirut occupancy rate increased by 5.7% in October 2022 to reach 41%, compared to an occupancy rate of 35.3% in October 2021. Nevertheless, Beirut occupancy rate was much higher in the previous months standing at 68.5% in September, 64% in August and 75% in July. Furthermore, the average room rate in dollars has decreased significantly by 24.4% from $68 in October 2021 to reach $51 in October 2022, whereas in the Lebanese pound, average room rate has increased by 36.2% to reach LBP 1,869,827 in October 2022. In turn, RevPAR (Revenue per available room) decreased by 12.1% in USD during the same period: $24 in October 2021 to $21 in October 2022 while in Lebanese pound, the RevPAR added 58.5% to stand at LBP 766,657 in October 2022.

On a regional level, the occupancy rates in Dubai overall increased by 11% yearly to 71.1%. By the same token, the Average room rate and Room yields both increased by 27.7% and 51% to stand at $309 and $219, respectively by October 2022.

Furthermore, in KSA, Makkah and Madinah’s hotel occupancy rate increased respectively by 41.1% and 33.3% to reach 63.7% and 71.4% in October 2022; whereas, Riyadh’s hotel occupancy rate increased at a slower pace of 5.3% to reach 60.5% by October 2022. The average room rate reached the highest value in Jeddah at $242 by October 2022, followed by Riyadh and Makkah where the average room rate reached respectively $172 and $170 by October 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 Muscat, occupancy rate added 21.5% to reach 49.4% by October 2022, average room rate increased by 46.8% to reach $118 per night; likewise room yield grew by 160.1% to reach $58.

During the festive holiday season, hoteliers reported an upsurge in bookings compared to last year. In fact, many activities and music festivals lifted the Christmas spirit for Lebanese, expats and foreigners.

Source: EY, BlomInvest

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