Hotel sector remains underdeveloped

Average annual hotel occupancy rate at 54% during past 15 years, HVS says

June 22, 2011- The average occupancy rate at Beirut hotels was 54 percent during the 1996-2010 period, according to the annual survey of the Middle East hotel sector by global hotel consulting firm HVS. Beirut’s rate was the second lowest among 16 Arab cities covered by the survey.

The average occupancy rate at Beirut hotels was 66 percent in 2010, the third highest rate since 1994, following the 71 percent rate posted in 2004 and the 70 percent rate posted in 2009.The occupancy rate decreased by four percentage points in 2010 from the previous year, compared to a contraction of one percentage point for the region.
HVS said the average rate per room reached $263 in 2010 relative to $171 for the region. It said the average rate per room regressed by 6 percent year-on-year compared to a contraction of 8 percent in the Middle East.

Revenues per available room (RevPAR) reached $174 in 2010, down 11 percent year-on-year and compared to the regional average of $104. Beirut hotels realized the highest RevPAR in the region last year, as well as the second highest in the country during the previous 15 years after posting $194 in 2009.

HVS said that the hotel sector across the country remains undersupplied and underdeveloped, which provides opportunities for investors and developers. It said that despite an increase in the number of visitors last year, Beirut posted a fall in its occupancy rate.

According to the survey, Beirut had the fifth highest number of five-star hotels and hotel rooms in the region, behind Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Dubai. The city attracts a balanced share of both corporate and leisure demand, as well as a large share of visitors from Europe, it said.