Muscat, Doha hotels see big revenue rise

Hotels in Muscat and Doha reported double-digit increases in occupancy and revenues during March, according to the latest data from STR Global.

The Omani capital saw occupancy rates soar by 18% to 83.1% compared to the same month last year while Doha hotels witnessed a 13.2% rise to just over 70%.

The Qatari capital also reported a 12.4% rise in revenue per available room (RevPAR) to $204.19 but that was dwarfed by top performer Muscat where RevPAR rocketed by nearly 28% to $211.14, STR Global said.

It added that Dubai also registered strong RevPAR growth of 14.2% to $257.63 in March.

The data showed that hotels in Amman, Jordan achieved the largest average daily rate (ADR) increase, rising 12.7% to $166.44, followed by Dubai with an 11.5% increase to $294.

It also showed that Saudi hotel operators witnessed average occupancy rates of 71.5% during March, down 3%, ADR was up 10.5% and RevPAR rose 7.2%.

In the UAE, hotel occupancy rates averaged 82.8%, up 3.2%, while ADR increased 9.2% and RevPAR was up 12.6%.

The Middle East and Africa region reported a 3.8% increase in occupancy to 67.1%, a 5.4% increase in ADR to $179.57 and a 9.5% increase in RevPAR to $120.52.

During first-quarter of 2013, the MEA region’s occupancy rose 5.9% to 64.3%, its ADR was up 3.1% to $179.10 and its RevPAR increased 9.2% to $115.20.

“The region reported positive performance growth during the first quarter of the year”, said Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global. “Northern African, though showing double-digit occupancy growth, is still reporting actual occupancy levels of below 50%."