Middle East, Africa hotels post solid results for November
dubai — November proved to be a strong month for hotels across the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, with profit per room being the second highest recorded in 2017, new data from HotStats has shown.
Whilst hotels in the Middle East & Africa effectively recorded a 2.3 percentage point increase in room occupancy in November to 71.6 per cent, which was the second highest occupancy recorded in the region in 2017, they also posted a 4.7 per cent decline in achieved average room rate to $188.53. As a result, revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell by 1.4 per cent to $135.08 in November.
In contrast to the decline in rooms revenue, hotels in the MEA region achieved growth in nonrooms revenues, including a 2.2 per cent increase in the F&B segment. Statistics also show that gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) achieved at hotels in the region in November was equivalent to a profit conversion of 42.7 per cent of total revenue. This was 35.5 per cent above the year-to-date GOPPAR for the region at $73.14.
“November is typically a strong month of performance for hotels in the Middle East & Africa, and this month was almost entirely fuelled by North Africa and particularly winter sun resorts, including Tunisia and Egypt,” said Pablo Alonso, CEO of HotStats.
“In contrast, economic challenges borne out of the oil crisis continued to take their toll on performance levels at hotels in the Middle East. Even the biennial Dubai Air Show failed to make a material difference to performance for hotels in the UAE capital, despite a 20 per cent increase in trade visitors to the show.” In addition, December proved to be a strong month for Abu Dhabi hotels, data by STR showed. Supply and demand for hotels at the capital increased by 1.5 per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively. Occupancy increased by eight per cent to hit 79.4 per cent, while average daily rate (ADR) increased 2.1 per cent to Dh496.7. Meanwhile, RevPAR increased 10.2 per cent to reach Dh394.39. The month’s absolute occupancy level would be the highest for any December on record since 2004.
“The hospitality industry in the UAE has already become very competitive compared to other international tourist destinations. We now provide some of the best hotels, restaurants, spas, and entertainment services globally at more competitive prices,” noted Kamal Fakhoury, chief executive officer at the Cristal Group.
— rohma@khaleejtimes.com