Hospitality industry posts drop in revenue, says study

Doha hotel rooms’ yield plunged 8% to $176 as occupancy declined 4% (65%) and average room rates by 1.6% ($269) year-to-date in May this year

Qatar’s hospitality industry witnessed declining fortunes in the first five months of this year against robust gains in many other Gulf countries, according to Ernst &Young (E&Y).Doha hotel rooms’ yield plunged 8% to $176 as occupancy declined 4% (65%) and average room rates by 1.6% ($269) year-to-date in May this year, said E&Y ‘Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey’, which was released yesterday.However, in May alone, Doha hotel rooms’ yield dropped 10.2% to $164 on the back of a 5% plunge in occupancy and 3.7% in average room rate to $266.In the case of Saudi Arabia, Madina and Jeddah witnessed a double-digit growth, while its capital city saw shrinking fortunes for the hotel sector.Madina witnessed a robust 25.1% growth (YTD) in rooms’ yield to $118 on a 16% rise in average room rate to $161 and 5% in occupancy to 73%.In Jeddah, hotel rooms’ yield gained 20.8% to $184 due to an 8.5% jump in average room rate to $229 and 8% in occupancy to 80%.Makkah saw its hotel rooms’ yield gained only 2.9% to $175 although average room rate fell 4.6% to $201 but there was a 7% rise in occupancy to 87%.However, in the case of the Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, the hotel rooms’ yield fell 3.1% to $150 due to a 2.3% fall in average room rate to $232 even as occupancy was flat at 64%.In the United Arab Emirates, Dubai outshone other emirates such as Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. In Dubai, the prospects were lifted more by hotels and apartments than the beach resorts, whose tariffs are on the higher side.The rooms’ yield in Dubai (overall) grew 12.7% to $227 on a 7.8% rise in average room rate to $264 and 3% in occupancy to 85%.The Dubai apartments witnessed a 13% jump in rooms’ yield to $114 due to a 6% rise in average room rate to $125 and 6% in occupancy to 91%.Dubai City saw its hotel rooms’ yield gain 13.2% to $176 on the back of a 5.7% jump in average room rate to $201 and 6% in occupancy to 87%.The Dubai beach hotels rooms’ yield gained 8.3% to $327 on an 8.4% rise in average room rate to $397 while occupancy was flat at 82%.In Al Ain, the hotel rooms’ yield plunged 8% to $92 as average room rate declined 6.9% to $144 and occupancy by 1% to 63%. In the case of Abu Dhabi, where hotel rooms’ occupancy was rather flat at 79%, the rooms’ yield plummeted 11.2% to $163 since there was 11.6% shrinkage in average room rate to $204.Kuwait witnessed an 8.8% slippage in rooms’ yield to $149 due to a 2.5% fall in average room rate to $273 and occupancy by 4% to 54%.Oman saw a 1.3% growth in hotel rooms’ yield to $155 on the back of 2% gain occupancy to 73% although average room rate fell 1.6% to $212.Bahrain witnessed a stupendous 52.1% in hotel rooms’ yield to $93 mainly due to a 14% jump in occupancy to 39% although average room rate declined 1.6% to $232.