Hotels in the Middle East reported mixed performance results in January, while hotels in Africa posted growth across the three key performance metrics, according to data from STR - a leading market research firm.

Occupancy levels in the Middle East moved up 8.1 per cent to 73.3 per cent in January but average daily rate (ADR) declined 2.6 per cent to $148.57. However, revenue per available room (RevPAR) jumped 5.3 per cent to $108.90.

In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, occupancy rates were recorded at 63.5 per cent in January, a 31.8 per cent jump compared to the same period in 2019. ADR was down 9.4 per cent to SR600.15 ($159.8) while RevPAR moved up 19.4 per cent to SR381.38 ($101.5).

The absolute occupancy level was the highest for a January in Jeddah since 2016, while the ADR level was the lowest for a January since 2008. STR analysts attribute the year-over-year spike in occupancy to the midyear school break (January 2-18), which was celebrated in December during the last academic year.

In Africa, occupancy rates climbed up 2.4 per cent to 54.7 per cent with ADR also jumping 3.2 per cent to $119.59. RevPAR was also up 5.7 per cent to $65.41.

In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, occupancy declined 16.4 per cent to 33.5 per cent, pushing ADR down 1.9 per cent to TZS246,861.40 ($106.4). RevPAR also dropped significantly by 18.1 per cent to TZS82,661.18 ($35.6).

The absolute occupancy level was the lowest for any month in STR’s Dar Es Salaam database. STR analysts note the role of supply growth (up 9.7 per cent) in the low occupancy in addition to a drop in demand (down 8.3 per cent). - TradeArabia News Service