Middle East occupancy rises, RevPar and ADR falls

Data from STR revealed mixed results from hotels in the Middle East in July 2016.

Compared with July 2015, the Middle East recorded a 4.8% rise in occupancy to 58%. However, average daily rate (ADR) was down 15.9% to US $161.82, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell 11.9% to $93.88, according to the STR data.

Kuwait saw increases all around - occupancy rose by 5% to 38%, ADR stayed nearly flat with a 0.8% rise to KWD 66.36, with RevPar increasing to KWD 25.21 (a 5.9% rise).

Performance was primarily driven by a 25.9% increase in occupancy in the Kuwait area submarket. However, in the Kuwait City submarket, occupancy fell 3.8%.

Qatar reported decreases in each of the three metrics, echoing similar results recently.

STR reported that occupancy fell 6.6% to 53.3%; ADR was down 0.8% to QAR 491.68; and RevPAR dropped 7.3% to QAR 261.93. According to STR analysts, the month’s performance was mostly affected by an 8% year-over-year increase in supply.

In the UAE, Dubai specifically experienced increases in occupancy (+17.6% to 67.5%) and RevPAR (+7.5% to AED 365.08), while ADR dropped 8.6% to AED 540.60.

The market’s demand was up 24.6% year-over-year with a lift from Eid al-Fitr festivities. At the submarket level, the highest absolute occupancy levels were reported in 'Jumeirah Palm & Beaches' (74.9%) and the 'Deira & Airport Area' (72.0%). ADR continued to be affected by new supply (+5.9% in July).