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 40.6 percentage-point annual drop in the average occupancy rate in Beirut’s hospitality sector to 30% during the month of February 2020. This comes on the back of the strained local political and economic conditions. Similarly, the average room rate fell by 34.3% y-o-y to $123, with the average room yield plunging by 72% to $37.

The following chart captures the monthly evolution in the occupancy rate in Beirut’s 4 and 5 star hotels over the February 2019 – February 2020 period:

On a regional basis, Beirut recorded the lowest average occupancy rate (28%) among the ten covered Middle Eastern capitals during the first two months of 2020, with Abu Dhabi outperforming its regional peers, recording the highest average occupancy rate of 85%, followed by Cairo (79%) and Riyadh (74%). Beirut’s 4 and 5 star hotels charged the fourth lowest average room rate of $130, with Riyadh recording the highest average room rate of $172, followed by Kuwait City ($155) and Manama ($146), only to name a few.