Ernst and Young reveals Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey for November 2012

Commenting on the survey, Yousef Wahbeh, MENA Head of Transaction Real Estate at Ernst & Young, said, "The overall occupancy rate in Dubai was at 80% year-to-date, rising two per cent from same period of last year. In terms of the monthly performance, Dubai's overall occupancy rate increased to 90.9%, marking a 3.7% increase from November 2011. Additionally, room yield (RevPAR) increased by 10.8% year-to-date, with average room rate increasing by 7.5% year-to-date."

Compared to November 2011, rooms yield (RevPAR) increased by 3.8% and average room rate marginally decreased by 0.4% in November 2012. The increase is attributed to the high number of forums and conferences from the Banking & Finance sector, Securities sector and the Oil & Gas sector held in Dubai during the month of November. This represents Dubai's increasing appeal as a business-friendly environment that continues to attract major investments and international projects in addition to the stable and increasing tourism sector within the city.

With regard to the wider MENA region, we saw notable changes in the city of Amman, where overall occupancy rates increased by 16.0% year-to-date. The increase may be attributed to the onset of milder climate conditions, in addition to increased political stability which attracts tourists from the neighboring Levant region. The year-to-date room yield in Amman is 31.7% higher than it was year-to-date in 2011, with the average room rate 3.1% higher than it was year-to-date in 2011.

Bahrain also witnessed positive changes in its hospitality Key Performance Indicators, where the overall occupancy rates increased by 7.0% year-to-date. This change is due to several expositions taking place in the Kingdom during the month of November, including the Jewelry Arabia Exhibition, the Oil & Gas Trade Forum and many security talks which included regional heads of state. The year-to-date room yield in Bahrain has increased to 20.7% from the 2011, while the average room rate witnessed a mild 0.4% drop compared to the same time period last year.

There were no noticeable changes in Egypt, where cities such as Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurgada remained stable in their overall occupancy rates, with Cairo's occupancy rising 7.0% year-to-date, Sharm El Shaikh's occupancy grew 12.0% year-to-date, and Hurghada's occupancy rate grew 8.0% year-to-date. Sharm Al Shaikh also witnessed the highest year-to-date growth in Egypt in terms of Rooms Yield, of 16.3% compared to the same time period in 2011. In terms of monthly performance, Cairo's occupancy rate improved 11% compared to November 2011, with Sharm El Shaikh increasing 6.0% and Hurghada 5.0% compared to November 2011.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia experienced noticeable increases in occupancy rates, with Jeddah increasing by 7.0% year-to-date, and Madina increasing 2.0% year-to-date. Compared to November 2011, Riyadh's occupancy rate increased by 17.0% in November 2012. This is accredited to the various initiatives undertaken by the city to showcase lost artifacts and the introduction of new cultural experiences to the city.

The improving climate in the UAE and increased political stability in the region are setting up for a successful incline in hotel occupancy. The peak season has commenced strongly, and we expect this to continue throughout the upcoming months especially with the onset of the Dubai Shopping Festival."