MIDDLE EAST: 191,047 Hotel Rooms Under Contract In The Region

There were 763 hotels, with 191,047 rooms under contract in the Middle East and Africa region in September, according to a report from research firm STR Global.

The number of rooms under contract rose 26.3 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, 103,749 rooms in 401 hotels in the region were under construction last month, up 42.1 per cent year-on-year.

Dubai reported the largest number of rooms under construction with 19,719 rooms in 67 hotels. It was followed by Makkah, with 16,153 rooms, Doha, with 7,315 rooms and Riyadh, with 6,131 rooms.

The growth in hotel room supply in Dubai has put pressure on room rates. According to an STR Global report, average room rates were down 2.6 per cent year-on-year in September to reach Dh645.6. This, coupled with a 0.3 per cent decline in occupancy to 76 per cent, pushed down revenue per available room (RevPAR — an industry measure of occupancy and rates) by 3 per cent to Dh491.

“Overall, the shift of Eid al-Adha from October 2014 to September 2015 led to an 11.7 per cent year-over-year increase in ADR [average daily rate] during the week of 20-26 September,” STR Global said in a statement.

While supply rose 5.4 per cent last month, demand was up 5.1 per cent.

“Supply growth in Dubai remains significant, and demand improved from August. Through the first eight months of 2015, supply growth (+6.3 per cent) outweighed demand growth (+5.2 per cent) in the market,” STR Global stated.

Dubai expects to see 20,000 additional hotel rooms by 2016, according to the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM).

A number of hotels are scheduled to open in Dubai in the next few years, such as the Aloft in Dubai World Central, the Jumeirah Business Bay and the Bulgari resort.