Hotel occupancy rate
dropped to 62 percent

Average room rates increased to $201

Hotel occupancy rates in four and five star hotels in Beirut was 62 percent in 2019, down from 65 percent the previous year, according to the ‘Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey Report’ published by Ernst & Young (EY).

According to the Ministry of Tourism, two million foreign nationals visited the country last year, just one percent less than in 2018.

Average room rates increased seven percent to $201. Room yields increased 1.3 percent to $124.

“The survey does not cover the entire sector,” said Pierre Achkar, Chairman of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners. He said that the decrease in occupancy rates is higher in hotels not covered by the survey, especially outside the capital. “Occupancy rates in the last three months of the year were very low. Those during the first nine months of the year were unchanged from 2018,” he said.

STR’s hotel industry report said that Beirut hotels registered last year the highest revenue per available room (RevPAR) of $85 for Q1 since 2012. RevPAR in Q4 2019 was the lowest for any fourth quarter reaching $40.