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 2.6 percentage-point annual increase in the average occupancy rate in Beirut’s hospitality sector to 52.5% during the month of May 2022. The average room rate dropped by 22.8% y-o-y to $79.0, with the revenue per available room (RevPAR) contracting by 18.7% to $42.0.

The following chart captures the monthly evolution in the occupancy rate in Beirut’s 4 and 5 star hotels over the May 2021 – May 2022 period:

On a regional basis, Beirut recorded the third lowest average occupancy rate (42.6%) among the nine covered Middle Eastern capitals during the first five months of 2022. Abu Dhabi outperformed its regional peers, enjoying the highest average occupancy rate of 78.2%, followed by Cairo City (66.3%), Riyadh (62.9%), and Doha (59.4%). Beirut’s 4 and 5 star hotels charged the lowest average room rate of $57 when priced at the fresh market rate to reflect the sizeable devaluation of the pound since room rates in Lebanon were still charged in Lebanese Pounds during the month of May. Kuwait City on the other hand recorded the highest average room rate of $245, followed by Riyadh ($176) and Manama ($157), only to name a few.