Abu Dhabi occupancies up, marginal decline for Dubai: HotStats
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Hotels in Abu Dhabi registered substantial growth in revenues and profits during October 2013, according to the HotStats survey by TRI Hospitality Consulting Middle East.
As per statistics, occupancy levels in Abu Dhabi went up by 8.4% to 79.6% and Average Room Rate (ARR) increased by 16.8% to US$182.37 during the month. This boosted Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) by 30.6% to US$145.13. The growth in the top line performance resulted in a surge in profit levels during the month as Gross Operating Profit Per Available Room (GOPPAR) reached US$117.43, up by 47.3% compared to the same period in 2012.
Dubai was not far behind, as overall performance levels increased from previous year, despite a 2.0% decline in occupancy at 83.4%. However this month occupancy still exceeded the level witnessed year to date by 3.5%. ARR increased by 9.4% to US$396.87 driving RevPAR up 6.8% to US$330.80 and when coupled with higher operating profits boosted GOPPAR 7.6% to US$280.70.
“The growth in Abu Dhabi’s performance was attributed to several events being held in the city. Furthermore, corporate and MICE activities resumed with several international medical conferences. Leisure tourism also witnessed a boost with the Eid Al Adha holidays. The holidays helped Dubai attract strong demand from visitors within the region and Saudi Arabia in particular, while MICE activity returned to the market,” said Peter Goddard, managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting in Dubai.
In October, four and five star hotels in Doha recorded occupancy growth that was driven by a rise in corporate and leisure demand. Occupancies increased marginally to 68.7%, up 1.1% while Average Room Rate (ARR) dropped 6.5% to US$237.06, leaving the RevPAR for the month 5.0% lower at US$162.95. The 4.2% decline in Total Revenue Per Available Room (TrevPAR) was attributed to lower food and beverage consumption, coupled with a substantial decline in conferencing revenues. Higher operating costs coupled with a rise in payroll expenses drove profitability 10.5% lower than the previous year to US$197.41.
Negative hotel performance in Cairo is caused by political strife. Top and bottom line performance in Cairo hotels continued to suffer due to ongoing political unrest. Hotel occupancies remained subdued at 31.5%, a 23.2% lower than previous year, although average rates have risen 5.0% to US$ 112.59. Despite improvement in ARR, occupancy drove the 39.5% decline in RevPAR to US$ 35.44 which filtered through to the bottom line. With payroll increasing by 9.9%, GOPPAR fell by 47.2% to US$28.09.
“Although occupancies have gradually recovered from levels witnessed at the lowest point of 2013 when the coup d’etat took place in July, they remain 23.2%v lower than previous year. This reinforces the detrimental impact that political instability has had on hotel performance and is a considerable setback in Egypt’s recovery process following the initial uprisings seen in 2011,” added Peter Goddard, managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting in Dubai.
In Saudi Arabia, hotels reported average occupancy of 77.3%, which was a 1.2% lower than last year, while ARR also declined marginally by 0.2% to US$251.09, dropping RevPAR to US$194.00. A rise in food and beverages revenue was not sufficient enough to negate a decline in conferencing revenues which left TrevPAR at US$300.54 (-0.8%) and pushed the bottom line performance down by 4.2% to US$139.15.
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