Ten percent increase
in hotel summer rates

Demand from Gulf tourists increasing

Hotel room rates are expected to increase ten percent this summer compared to the same period last year, according to the Syndicate of Hotel Owners.

Rack rates for five- and four-star hotels are currently around $90 per night. Prior to 2011, they averaged $130.

Pierre Achkar, Chairman of the Syndicate, said: “We’ve started to witness demand from Gulf tourists, mostly Saudis and Kuwaitis. But we need one hundred percent occupancy rates to return to the original room rates.”

Achkar said: “Gulf tourists will contribute in stabilizing prices, because they book for a long period of time, and have a high purchasing power.”

According to the “Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey Report” by Ernst & Young, average room rates in Beirut’s four and five star hotels increased by four percent in the first quarter, compared to the same period last year. Prices per available room increased by 26 percent reaching $86. Hotel occupancy rates reached 62 percent, an increase of 11 points.

“We expect 70 percent occupancy in summer,” said Frank Royer, General Manager at Le Bristol Hotel.

Rack rates in July start at $450 at the Four Seasons Hotel Beirut, $240 at Mövenpick Hotel & Resorts, and $300 at the Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel.

Wadih Kanaan, Secretary General at the Syndicate, said: “Hotels located in regions where festivals are taking place are able to achieve better rates. I expect more hotels, even not located in festival places, to recoup rates of yesteryears.”