Dubai Hotel Occupancy Up 2.1% in August 2014

Hotels in Dubai saw occupancy grow by 2.1 per cent cent to 75.1 per cent in August compared the same period in 2013, according to the data released by the firm STR Global.

Occupancy performance is back to normal trading conditions after holy month of Ramadan in July.

The Dubai Hotel Occupancy dropped by 12 per cent to 45% in July due to slow demand in summer and increase in supply of hotel rooms in the city.

Supply rose by 8.6 per cent as of August, while demand grew by 10.9 per cent. There are currently 628 Hotels under contract with 147,454 rooms, in Middle East and Africa, according to the August 2014 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report. In GCC, Saudi Arabia posted the largest increase in existing supply, (115.7 per cent), i.e. if all the 7,396 rooms under contract open.

Meanwhile, average daily rate (ADR) in August fell 5.7 per cent to Dh682.21 and as a result, revenue per available room (RevPAR – a performance benchmark) declined 3.7 per cent to Dh512.5. In July, ADR was 5 per cent up to Dh638.7, while RevPAR dropped 7.4 per cent to Dh290.23.

Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global said that “The overall decline in ADR, however, is strongly related to the three days of Eid celebrations shifting months, where Dubai hotels experience a spike in hotel performance.”