Middle East occupancies rise, Africa still struggling

The Middle East and Africa region witness a positive performance in terms of hotel occupancies, according to STR Global.  The region reported a 3.3% increase in occupancy to 62.0%, a 4.8% increase in average daily rate to US$187.15 and an 8.2% increase in revenue per available room to US$115.96. “The total region started 2014 off well”, said Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global. “All three key performance metrics were positive, driven by performance in the Middle East. Oman and Saudi Arabia showed positive occupancy, while UAE continued to report positive rate growth. There is still instability in the region, but overall there are signs of improvement. Jordan is now showing some performance growth.” The regions that performed well included four markets that reported double-digit occupancy increases: Amman with +19.2% to 54.5%; Doha with +17.1% to 75.1%; Cape Town with +13.3% to 73.0%; and Abu Dhabi with +12.8% to 73.4%. In Africa, Nairobi fell 25.0% to 42.6% in occupancy, reporting the largest decrease while Sandton and the surrounding areas fell 16.3% to US$98.68 in ADR, posting the largest decrease. Dubai achieved the only double-digit ADR growth, rising 12.8% to US$308.64. While Amman rose 21.1% to US$88.41 in RevPAR, experiencing the largest increase. Abu Dhabi followed with a 15.6% increase to US$112.97. This positivity was not witnessed by Beirut which witnessed a -26.2% to US$53.04 and Cairo -25.6% to US$33.61, the largest RevPAR decreases. Source: Travel Daily