Hotels in Doha experienced a double-digit fall in average room rates (ARR) in March, with a downward impact coming from competition for corporate demand, according to the latest HotStats data from TRI Hospitality Consulting.
ARR fell 14.9% to US $222.17 during the month and, although occupancy rates rose 5.9 percentage points 75.2%, this led to a bedroom revenue per available room (RevPAR) decline of 7.6% compared to the previous year.
“Hotels in Doha have seen a recent slide in profit margins primarily caused by decreasing average rates,” said TRI Hospitality Consulting managing director Peter Goddard.
“The mixed performance witnessed in March was ultimately driven down by lower rates, even though overall demand increased. Food and beverage operations contribute a significant proportion of revenues, generating approximately 45% of total revenues.
“However, as food and beverage operations have higher operating costs, the lower performance levels, particularly from conferences and banqueting is placing additional pressure on overall profitability margins.”
TRI added that a heavy reduction in non-room revenues derived from softer food and beverage consumption was further exacerbated by lower conferencing revenues, causing total revenue per available room to fall 7.7%. The decline in both line items impacted the bottom line profits, which fell 10% to US $181.34.
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