Hotel revenues drop by 20 percent

Average room rates fell to $169

The Q4 2013 ‘Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey Report’, issued by Ernst & Young, said that average hotel occupancy in Beirut amounted to 51 percent, during 2013, a decrease of 3 percentage points, from 2012.

Average room rates decreased from $201 in 2012 to $169 in 2013, which resulted in a drop in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) of 20.8 percent, to $131.

There was a minimal drop in Beirut’s hospitality’s key performance indicators, in December 2013, a decrease in RevPAR of only 1.6% compared to the same period, last year.

The 2013 US and Gulf travel warnings to Lebanon, fueled by concerns over car bombings here, helped to account for the lowered occupancy.

The hotel benchmark report provided a monthly performance overview of leading hotels in the Middle East. The hotel set includes international branded and operated properties across the 5-star and 4-star segments.