Hotels in Dubai, UAE, will end the year with a 2.2-per-cent increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR), STR Global has said.

The global provider of hotel data had in previously forecast in May a RevPAR of 3 per cent for 2014.

Hotels in Dubai posted an occupancy rate of 41.2 per cent during Ramadan this year as against 42.7 per cent during the holy season of 2013, said Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global, adding that post-Ramadan “there has been an initial uptick”.

The hotels claimed an average daily rate (ADR) of Dh576 ($157) and revenue per available room of Dh237 ($64.5), as compared to an ADR at Dh572 ($155.72) and RevPAR of Dh244 ($66.42) last year, she pointed out.

“As Ramadan occurs at different times each year, we are always curious to analyse any differences in performance during the fasting month to determine whether its timing has an impact,” said Winkle.

“We see very little difference from 2013 to 2014.  In both years, Ramadan occurred in the height of summer months which is traditionally a slower period for the country’s hotels. Average-daily-rate levels managed to grow by Dh4 ($1.08) and despite the 7.8-per-cent supply growth in 2014, hotels were able to maintain the same levels of occupancy.”

“The slow performance during July 2014 was anticipated. July is typically the weakest month of the year, and the timing of Ramadan had an impact on performance for the month,” she concluded. -  TradeArabia News Service