Ernst & Young (EY) published its “Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey Report” on the performance of 4 and 5 star hotels in the Middle East region, conveying a 0.8 percentage-point annual rise in the average occupancy rate in Beirut’s hospitality sector to 69.6% during the month of October 2018. However, the average room rate fell by 1.8% y-o-y to $177, with the average room yield plunging by 0.7% to $123.

The following chart captures the monthly evolution in the occupancy rate in Beirut’s 4 and 5 star hotels over the October 2017 - October 2018 period:

On a regional basis, Beirut recorded the 3^rd highest (64.2%) average occupancy rate among covered Middle Eastern capitals during the ten-month period ended October 2018. Abu Dhabi outperformed its regional peers, recording the highest average occupancy rate of 76.4% by October, followed by Cairo (71.6%), among others. In a related note, Kuwait City’s 4 and 5 star hotels charged the highest average room rate ($190), right ahead of their likes in Beirut ($186) and Riyadh ($172), only to name a few.