Thursday 28 March 2024
 
»
 
»
Story

ME hotel revenues down in October, Africa results mixed

LONDON, November 23, 2016

Hotels in the Middle East reported negative October 2016 results, while hotels in Africa posted mixed results in the three key performance metrics for the same month.

Compared with October 2015, the Middle East reported a 4.4 per cent decrease in occupancy to 64.0 per cent, a 9.0 per cent drop in average daily rate (ADR) to $174.19 and a 13.0 per cent decline in revenue per available room (RevPAR) to $111.48.

Africa experienced a 5.1 per cent drop in occupancy to 58.5 per cent, but an 8.2 per cent rise in ADR to $105.71 pushed RevPAR up 2.8 per cent to US$61.82.

Performance of featured countries for October 2016

The UAE reported decreases in each of the three metrics. Occupancy dipped 2.9 per cent to 75.6 per cent, and ADR dropped 9.6 per cent to Dh668.05 ($181.8), the lowest for an October since 2005. As a result, RevPAR declined 12.3 per cent to Dh505.34 ($137.5). October was the 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year ADR decreases in the UAE, due in part to consistent and significant supply growth (up 5.1 per cent year to date). At the same time, demand has remained strong, up 5.0 per cent year to date.

Jordan recorded increases in occupancy (up 3.9 per cent to 60.6 per cent) and RevPAR (up 2.4 per cent to JOD60.66/$85). ADR in the country decreased 1.5 per cent to JOD100.11 ($140.7). Rates in the country have been consistently cheaper (down 4.3 per cent year to date), while demand has trended upward, reaching 6.9 per cent growth through the first 10 months of 2016. STR analysts note that the demand upswing has come while tourist arrivals have fallen year to date (down 1.3 per cent according to the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities).

Nigeria posted increases across the three key performance metrics. Occupancy rose 4.2 per cent to 48.3 per cent, ADR was up 13.3 per cent to an all-time high for the country (NGN49,251.44/$154.7) and RevPAR grew 18.0 per cent to NGN23,795.19 ($74.7). STR analysts attribute the spike in rate to inflation in the country, while occupancy has been helped by slowing supply growth during the recession.

Performance of featured markets for October 2016

Dubai, UAE, reported declines across the three key performance metrics. Occupancy fell 2.0 per cent to 78.0 per cent, ADR was down 9.8 per cent to Dh764.63 ($208) and RevPAR dropped 11.6 per cent to Dh596.16 ($162.2). Strong supply growth (over 5.8 per cent year to date) has slightly outpaced a year-to-date demand increase (over 5.6 per cent) in the market. In addition to the strong development pipeline, STR analysts attribute Dubai’s performance to a decline in visitors from the drop in oil prices.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, reported decreases in each of the three metrics: occupancy (down 7.2 per cent to 56.2 per cent), ADR (down 3.6 per cent to SAR796.30/$212.1) and RevPAR (down 10.6 per cent to SAR447.46/$119.2). As one of the GCC’s key hubs, Riyadh is heavily dependent on corporate travel. That business has suffered with the drop in oil prices, and coupled with significant supply growth (up 8.9 per cent year to date), Riyadh’s performance has slumped.

Cairo, Egypt, experienced growth in occupancy (up 4.6 per cent to 57.9 per cent) and RevPAR (up 4.5 per cent to EGP478.29/$27.2) while ADR was nearly flat (down 0.1 per cent to EGP826.62/$47.16). Demand is up 11.1 per cent year to date in the market, and STR analysts believe that strong weekend business indicates a recovery in leisure demand. That recovery in hotel demand has come even with a 41.8 per cent drop in tourist arrivals to Egypt through September, as reported by the Central Agency for Public Reserves and Statistics (CAPMAS). On October 6, Armed Forces Day, Cairo’s occupancy jumped to 67.0 per cent, which was more than 9 per cent higher than the average for the month.  - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Africa | hotels | Rates | Occupancy | Middle | East |

More Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Stories

calendarCalendar of Events

Ads