Beirut’s Hotel Occupancy Rate reached 49.6% by November 2022

According to Ernst & Young Middle East hotel benchmark survey, the occupancy rate in Beirut’s 4- and 5-star hotels reached 49.6% percentage points (pp) by November 2022, up from last year’s percentage of 42.5% while the average room rate in dollars currency has increased by 3.1% to stand at $46 by November 2022.

On a monthly performance, Beirut occupancy rate increased by 8.8% in November 2022 to reach 39.3%, compared to an occupancy rate of 30.5% in November 2021. Nevertheless, Beirut occupancy rate was higher in the previous months standing at 41% in October, 68.5% in September and 64% in August. Furthermore, the average room rate in dollars has decreased significantly by 27.9% from $67 in November 2021 to reach $49 in November 2022, whereas in the Lebanese pound, average room rate has increased by 19.9% to reach LBP 1,995,065 in November 2022. In turn, RevPAR (Revenue per available room) decreased by 7.2% in USD during the same period: $21 in November 2021 to $19 in November 2022 while in Lebanese pound, the RevPAR added 54.4% to stand at LBP 783,824 in November 2022.

On a regional level, the occupancy rates in Dubai overall increased by 9.8% yearly to 72.1%. By the same token, the Average room rate and Room yields both increased by 25.2% and 44.9% to stand at $332 and $239, respectively by November 2022.

Furthermore, in KSA, Makkah and Madinah’s hotel occupancy rate increased respectively by 40.7% and 32.6% to reach 65.5% and 72.9% in November 2022; whereas, Riyadh’s hotel occupancy rate increased at a slower pace of 5.4% to reach 62.3% by November 2022. The average room rate reached the highest value in Jeddah at $239 by November 2022, followed by Riyadh and Makkah where the average room rate reached respectively $176 and $165 by November 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 20.9% to reach 50.8% by November 2022, average room rate increased by 42.1% to reach $122 per night; likewise room yield grew by 141.5% to reach $62.

Despite favorable Mediterranean weather in Lebanon and cheaper tourism cost, Gulf countries attract much more tourism activity than Lebanon. For example, Dubai, Egypt, and Madinah enjoy the top three highest occupancy rates amongst Arab cities. It is our belief that due to political instability in Lebanon, the country welcomes mainly expats in the high season of Christmas holidays and summer.

Source: EY, BlomInvest

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