Saudi Arabian and Dubai hotels beat off competition from other countries in the Middle East as they continued to improve their occupancy and RevPar (revenue per available room) figures during 2011, while Cairo registered the highest drops in all three parameters, a recent survey by Ernst & Young (E&Y), a global leader in advisory services, said. According to the Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey, the star performer of December 2011 was Makkah where RevPar on a monthly basis grew 47.8 percent, followed by Madina at 26.8 percent and Doha at 24.4 percent. Yousuf Wahbah, Partner and Head of MENA Transaction Real Estate, E&Y, said: “Dubai and Saudi hotels have held their own and continue to improve their RevPar (an industry benchmark), occupancy and room rates.” He added tough that “it is uncertain that the rise can be sustained as more hotels are expected to come on board this year, easing shortage in demand and stabilizing RevPar even with increased visitor numbers.” “The possibility of the figures reaching a plateau or even perhaps sliding down is likely, given that most of MENA's new hotels are expected to be in Dubai, Riyadh and Makkah.” “Besides the expected steep declines in the markets of Egypt and Bahrain, others that showed falls in RevPar at the end of 2011 include Beirut, Abu Dhabi and Muscat,” Wahbah said. “These drops are seen both in year-to-date and monthly comparisons, which means that room rates in these markets are still looking to bottom out to become more attractive to visitors. At the same time, they need to reassess and revitalize their offering as business and leisure destinations and increase their focus on tapping new markets.” Average room rates during 2011 dropped to $254 from $224 in 2010 in Bahrain, marking the steepest falls with 11.8 per cent, while Dubai rates inched up by 3 per cent - from $221 in 214 in 2010 to $221 last year. “Amman and Doha showed a slight improvement in RevPar compared to the previous month but declined on a year-to-date indicating a relative stability,” he added.
