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 9.2 percentage-point annual decrease in the average occupancy rate in Beirut’s hospitality sector to 31.8% during the month of October 2023. Conversely, the average room rate more than tripled to read $159.0. As a result, the revenue per available room (RevPAR), which is the product of the occupancy and average room rate, rose by 140.7% y-o-y to $50.0. In addition, occupancy rate in October dropped by 48.87% on a monthly basis as a result of the onset of the Gaza war and its ramifications on the southern borders of Lebanon translating into some 41.45% drop in tourist arrivals to the country.

The following chart captures the monthly evolution in the occupancy rate in Beirut’s 4 and 5 star hotels over the October 2022 – October 2023 period:

On a regional basis, Beirut recorded the lowest average occupancy rate (46.4%) in the hospitality sector among the nine covered Middle Eastern capitals during the first ten months of 2023. Abu Dhabi, on the other hand, outperformed its regional peers, enjoying the highest average occupancy rate of 79.0%, followed by Cairo City (71.2%) and Riyadh (64.4%). Beirut’s 4 and 5 star hotels charged the fourth highest average room rate of $148, followed by Amman ($144), Cairo City ($142) and Muscat ($126) among others. Riyadh, on the other hand, recorded the highest average room rate of $199, followed by Kuwait City ($168) and Manama ($151).