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The Middle East Hotel Benchmark survey released by Ernst & Young for the first half of 2010 indicated that Beirut hotels witnessed the highest year-on-year growth rate in the average room rate in the Middle East region.
This augurs well for the hotel sector in the Lebanese capital, which, as a result of the continuously booming tourism sector in the country, is witnessing increased profitability.
The average room rate in hotels in the Lebanese capital reached US$ 246 in the first half of 2010, up by 15.9% relative to the same period of the previous year. Following Beirut, the second highest rise in the average room rate was registered by Riyadh with 15.0%, followed by Sharm Al Shaikh with 9.8%, Amman with 5.8%, Jeddah with 5.3%, Madina with 2.3%, Hurghada with 1.7% Al Ain with 1.1%, Cairo with 0.3% and Manama with 0.1%. The rise in Beirut’s average room rate has left the Lebanese capital with the 4th highest room rate in the Middle East, which attained US$ 246, after Doha (US$ 292), Manama (US$ 264) and Kuwait (US$ 263).
It is also worth noting that Beirut’s rooms’ yield witnessed the second highest year-on-year growth in the Middle East, as a result of the significant rise in the average room rate, given that the average hotel occupancy rate rose slightly year-on-year. As a matter of fact, Beirut’s rooms’ yield went up by 21.6% to reach US$ 179 in the first six months of
2010. This rise came second only to the one witnessed in Sharm el Shaikh, at 22.7%. Meanwhile, other cities that witnessed an increase in their rooms’ yield were Hurghada (16.2%), Amman (12.5%), Makkah (10.7%), Madina (9.0%), Cairo (6.9%), Jeddah (6.7%) Riyadh (3.9%) and Al Ain (1.3%). The important increase in Beirut’s rooms yield has positioned the Lebanese capital with the 3rd highest rooms’ yield in the Middle East, at US$ 179, following Doha (US$ 205), and Abu Dhabi (US$ 183).
As to Beirut’s hotel occupancy, it grew by only 3% in the first half of 2010 relative to the same period of last year, and reached 72%. Beirut ranked 8th in terms of hotel occupancy in the Middle East region following Sharm el Shaikh (85%), Hurghada (84%), Dubai (78%), Makkah (76%), Cairo (75%), Abu Dhabi (74%) and Jeddah (73%). Overall, Beirut’s hotel sector performed well in the first half of 2010, in line with the booming tourism in the country. The hotel sector is likely to continue growing, although at a slower pace, given that it stems from an already high base in 2009.
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