Hotels in the Middle East reported mixed October performance results, while hotels in Africa posted mostly positive results across the three key performance metrics, according to data from STR.
In the Middle East, occupancy was up 6.5 percent to 67.6 percent and revenue per available room grew 2.3 percent to $97.07—but average daily rate dropped 3.9 percent to $143.62. Hotels in Africa, meanwhile, posted upticks in both ADR and RevPAR (up 1.8 percent to $109.61 and up 1.4 percent to $72.14, respectively), but reported a slight decline in occupancy, down 0.4 percent to 65.8 percent.
Lagos, Nigeria, was a prime example of Africa’s ups and downs. Occupancy was up 17.4 percent to 68.4 percent for the month and RevPAR grew a healthy 12.9 percent to NGN31,932.35—both the highest for an October in STR’s Lagos database—but ADR dropped 3.8 percent to NGN46,699.89. Demand grew 17 percent, while supply was slightly muted at a 0.3 percent decrease. STR analysts noted that demand growth reached double-digits during the days of the Aké Arts and Book Festival in late October.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was a decidedly different story. Occupancy was up 23.9 percent to 48.1 percent, ADR improved 14.9 percent to SAR778.34 and RevPAR increased 42.4 percent to SAR374.69.
But while the market registered a double-digit increase in occupancy, the absolute level in the metric was the second-lowest for an October since 2001. STR analysts credit the opening of the King Abdul Aziz International Airport Terminal 1 and an increase in the number of international flights for the market’s “substantial increase in demand,” which improved 30.2 percent.