Abu
Dhabi hotels reported significant growth in top line and bottom line
performance in February as the city moved into peak leisure and MICE
tourist season. Occupancy levels in the capital shot up 18.6
percentage points compared to the same period last year to 80.8% and
Average Room Rate (ARR) increased 10.0% to US$203.30, leading to a
43.0% increase in Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR). Total Revenue
per Available Room (TRevPAR) for the month was up 36.4% to US$323.95
and the payroll dropped by 6.6 percentage points, boosting the Gross
Operating Profit per Available Room (GOPPAR) by 72.9% to US$126.21.
Hotels
in Dubai reported stellar performance during the month of February as
the city hosted a plethora of events and attracted an increasing
number of international travellers, lifting occupancy 5.3 percentage
points to 90.1%. Dubai hotels maintained the highest Average Room
Rate (ARR) in the region at US$334.79, resulting in 10.3% growth in
Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) to US$301.7. An increase in
leisure demand in the city boosted food and beverage revenues 9.3%
and 9.5% respectively and Total Revenue per Available Room (TRevPAR)
up by 11.0% to US$523.86. In terms of profit, Dubai hotels reported a
12.7% growth in Gross Operating Profits per Available Room (GOPPAR)
to US$261.08.
Dubai
continues to be the star player in the region as the city records the
second consecutive month where occupancy levels are above 90 percent.
Increased economic activity within the city coupled with a consistent
rise in visitor numbers have been driving demand for Dubai’s
hotels. Dubai Airport 11.4% growth in passenger numbers in February
gave the hotel market an extra boost, particularly from Eastern
Europe, which saw a 29% rise in passengers.
n
Kuwait, hotels registered a 6.4 percentage point increase in
occupancy in February to 60.0% and 7.5% increase in ARR to US$273.92
driven by an increase in both corporate and leisure demand. The city
hosted this year’s Hala February festival during the month which is
a strong catalyst for domestic tourism in Kuwait, encouraging local
spending and growth in food and beverage demand. The city also
celebrated its national day during the month of February, further
boosting hotel performances as residents took advantage of an
extended weekend to vacation in the city.
Consequently,
the citywide RevPAR was 20.4% higher compared to last year at
US$164.27 and F&B revenues increased 46.6%, boosting TRevPAR by
23.8% to US$350.43 and GOPPAR up by 34.9% to US$161.97.
Hotel
performance in Egypt continue to recover; Jeddah figures up as Umrah
season begins Egypt hotels continued to show recovery in performance
while in Saudi Arabia, room rates in Jeddah are up 11.2% as this
year’s Umrah season kicks off, according to the latest HotStats
survey of full service four and five star hotels by TRI Hospitality
Consulting.
In
Sharm el Sheikh, hotel performance indicators showed notable growth
over the same period last year highlighting the continuing recovery
in tourist arrivals to Egypt. Occupancy levels across the four and
five star hotels surveyed by HotStats increased 7.7 percentage points
to 56.8%, and ARR and RevPAR increased 9.7% and 26.9% to USUS$40.78
and US$23.13 respectively. In addition, hotels also reported notable
growth in F&B revenues and 52.9% increase in meeting room
revenues, resulting in a 27.3% increase in TRevPAR to US$47.93. On
the bottom line, this resulted in a 71.2% increase in GOPPAR to
US$15.27.
In
Cairo, occupancy levels remained largely unchanged at 42.6%, however
a 10.9% growth in ARR to US$112.69 boosted RevPAR by 12.3% to
US$47.96. The overall improvement in hotel performance in both Cairo
and Sharm El Sheikh is attributed to the increase in leisure demand,
mainly from Europe as a growing number of travellers take advantage
of the better exchange rates and lower prices to travel to Egypt. In
Cairo, the higher RevPAR boosted TRevPAR levels up by 6.5% to
US$87.87 and GOPPAR up 9.1% to US$33.7.
“Sharm
el Sheikh continues to attract a growing number of visitors,
particularly UK nationals who benefited from the week-long holiday in
mid-February, to escape harsh winter conditions at reasonable prices.
Package deals to Egypt often incorporate a few nights in Cairo,
providing hotels in the capital with a much needed boost in
revenues”, commented Peter Goddard, Managing Director at TRI
Hospitality Consulting in Dubai. In Saudi Arabia, however, the two
main markets – Jeddah and Riyadh – saw varying performance
trends. Hotels in Jeddah registered growth across major performance
indicators despite a marginal drop in occupancy which was down 1.3
percentage points to 78.2%. ARR for the month was up 11.2% to
US$237.37 allowing a 9.4% increase in RevPAR to US$185.69. The growth
in performance is attributed mainly to the start of the Umrah season.
Consequently, Jeddah hotels reported a 9.4% increase in TRevPAR to
US$298.83, partly assisted by strong growth in food and beverage
revenues, and a 10.8% growth in GOPPAR which stood at US$135.61
during the month.
Riyadh’s
hotel performances remained stable compared to last year in spite of
a 3.0 percentage points increase in occupancy to 74.3 percent. ARR
across the market witnessed a 3.3% decline to US$250.48, believed to
be mainly driven by the increased competition including from a
growing number of mid-market hotels across the city. Nevertheless,
the growth in occupancy helped the hotels achieve a 0.8% growth in
RevPAR to US$185.97 and 1.5% growth in TRevPAR to US$299.39. However,
the higher payroll cost for the month negated the gain in revenues,
leaving GOPPAR at US$173.81, up just 0.1% compared to last year.
“Hotels
in Jeddah are likely to see continued growth in demand in the coming
months, both from business, leisure and religious visitors. Muslim
pilgrims to Makkah and Madinah represent a fast growing segment, and
Jeddah, being the main port of entry for the pilgrims to the holy
cities, will continue to benefit from this as many pilgrims spend 1-2
days in Jeddah on their return trip to relax and do some last minute
shopping” commented Goddard.
The
MENA Chain Hotels sample is composed of 108 hotels with an average
hotel size of 325 bedrooms. The hotels profiled in this report are
drawn from the HotStats database and reflect the portfolios and
distribution of the hotel chains that we survey and which operate
primarily in the four and five-star sectors.
