Hotel rooms under construction in ME hits 82,446

November witnessed 82,446 additional rooms in 253 hotels under construction in the Middle East.

Hotel rooms under construction in the Middle East rose 57% year-on-year in November 2015, according to a report from STR Global.

Additionally, rooms under contract reached 144,321 in 501 hotels in the Middle East last month, up 30% compared to the same month last year.

Saudi Arabia witnessed the most rooms under construction with 34,415 rooms in 72 hotels, followed by the UAE with 27,458 rooms in 94 hotels,

Qatar saw 6,976 rooms in 29 hotels, followed by Egypt with 3,934 rooms in 13 hotels, Morocco with 3,143 rooms in 17 hotels and Jordan with 3,055 rooms in nine hotels.

Dubai saw hotel room supply grow 5.4% in November, outpacing demand, which was up 2.4%.

During 2015, growth in supply put pressure on room rates, which were down 7% year-on-year in November to US$242 (Dh889).

Occupancy dropped 2.9% to 83%, resulting in revenue per available room falling 9.8% to $201 (Dh737), according to STR Global.