Hotels in the Middle East reported negative results in January with a 3.8 per cent decrease in occupancy to 70.3 per cent, said a report.

According to January 2016 data from STR Global, a leading provider of global hotel data, Average daily rate for the month was down 6.9 per cent to $197.20. Revenue per available room dropped 10.4 per cent to $138.60.

Muscat, Oman, reported an 8.7 per cent decline in occupancy to 63.8 per cent, a 9.4 per cent drop in ADR to OMR80.98 ($209.6) and a 17.3 per cent decrease in RevPAR to OMR51.68 ($133.7). Supply growth (over 2 per cent) outweighed demand performance (below 6.9 per cent) for the month, creating a slower-than-usual start to the year in Muscat.

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, reported double-digit decreases across the three key performance indicators: occupancy dropped 54.7 per cent to 24.8 per cent; ADR slipped 18.9 per cent to EGP406.16 ($51.7); and RevPAR climbed down 63.3 per cent to EGP100.92 ($12.8). Hoteliers cut prices in the market, but the decline in occupancy was too great to overcome. According to STR Global analysts, Sharm el-Sheikh has once again lost its attractiveness due to the October 2015 plane crash in the Sinai Peninsula.

However, Casablanca (Morocco) posted increases in each of the three key performance metrics: occupancy climbed over 8 per cent to 58.2 per cent; ADR jumped 8.7 per cent to MAD1,062.66 ($107.7) and RevPAR rose 17.4 per cent to MAD618.35 ($62.7). Absolute levels in the market fell in line with usual January performance. – TradeArabia News Service