Dubai’s hotels felt the squeeze once again last month.
Revenue in Dubai per available room (RevPar), a key industry measure, fell by 16.1 per cent in April compared with a year earlier, according to preliminary data from London-based STR, a company that tracks supply and demand data for the hotel industry.
In its preliminary data for April, STR indicated that RevPar fell to Dh615.12 during the month. Meanwhile, the average daily rate dropped by 15.4 per cent to Dh771.74, as occupancy decreased by nearly 1 per cent to 79.7 per cent.
However, the Arabian Travel Market, an annual trade conference in Dubai that draws several thousand visitors and participants, helped hotels in Dubai to reach occupancy levels of above 80 per cent for five consecutive days from April 25-29, said STR.
While the supply of rooms increased by 6.1 per cent, STR said demand grew by a smaller 5.2 per cent last month.
HotStats, another company that collects data from close to half a million rooms in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, said that the supply of new hotel rooms in Dubai during the past year has taken a toll on room rates, especially at upscale hotels.
More than 1,000 hotel rooms in the mid-market sector opened last year, with the room count standing at 82,760 at the end of March.
The average daily rate in Dubai was US$234.88 during the first three months, much higher than Paris, New York and Singapore, according to STR.
STR said it would release its official results for April on May 23.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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