Upper Upscale hotels dominate MEA hotel pipeline

The Middle East/Africa hotel development pipeline is still dominated by upper upscale and luxury properties, according to the March 2010 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report.

Among the Chain Scale segments, three of the seven segments each accounted for at least 20 percent rooms in the total active pipeline. The Upper Upscale segment made up the largest portion of the total active pipeline with 27.5 percent and 35,168, followed by the Unaffiliated segment (24.3 percent with 31,107 rooms) and the Luxury segment (21.5 percent with 27,456 rooms).

The active pipeline includes 473 hotels comprising 127,952 rooms and it was the UAE that ended the month with the most rooms in the total active pipeline (53,477) and in the In Construction phase (26,868).

Four other countries reported more than 5000 rooms in the total active pipeline: Saudi Arabia (15,958 rooms); Egypt (6,397 rooms); and Qatar (6,123 rooms).

Among the key markets in the region, Dubai, UAE, reported the largest number of rooms in the total active pipeline and in the In Construction phase (31,142 and 14,637, respectively).

Abu Dhabi, UAE, followed Dubai with 14,071 rooms in the total active pipeline and 7,354 rooms in the In Construction phase. The two markets accounted for more than 80 percent of UAE’s rooms in the total active pipeline.