Hotel occupancy rate
near 50 percent in Beirut

Growth in average room rate and revenue

The average occupancy rate of four- and five-star hotels in Beirut increased to almost 49 percent in 2022 from 42 percent in the previous year, according to the ‘Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey’ published by Ernst & Young (EY).

The occupancy rate was noticeably high in summer reaching 75 percent in July and 64 percent in August.

Average room rate, in terms of fresh dollars, rose by around six percent last year to $46. Revenue per available room grew by 22 percent over the same period to $22.

The increase in occupancy rate reflects the 51 percent surge in the number of inbound passengers using the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport last year. However, their number, totaling 3.1 million passengers, remains much lower than the 8.7 million recorded in 2019.

According to the Minister of Tourism, tourism revenues reached more than $6 billion in 2022 and the number of visitors totaled over 1.7 million in the three summer months alone.

Despite the improvements in occupancy and room rates, they remain among the lowest among the nine Middle Eastern cities covered by the survey.