Organizers of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC 2013) discussed Qatar’s long-term vision for the tourism sector and reviewed local and global hotel performance indicators and projects.
Reviewing key global hotel performance indicators with a focus on Qatar, Philip Wooller, Area Director for Middle East and Africa at STR Global said, “Despite another year of increased supply (6.5 percent) Doha continues to improve its reputation as a destination for business and leisure.
“Demand increased by 17.7 percent resulting in occupancy increases of 11 percent.
“However, room rates achieved dropped by 7.9 percent which was perhaps more to do with the perceived impact of the 2012 new supply numbers which increased by 35 percent as hotels sought higher market share through competitive pricing,” he added.
The Middle East and Africa region reported positive performance results during December 2013, according STR Global.
It reported a three percent increase in occupancy to 59.5 percent, a 4.2 percent increase in average daily rate to $180.65 and a 7.3 percent increase in revenue per available room to $107.44.
Demand increased in the Middle East by 6.6 percent at YE while supply increased by 10.2 percent.
Highlighting the importance of planning ahead, as it pertains to successful hotel developments, Kees Hartzuiker, Chief Executive Officer of hospitality consultancy firm Roya International, said, “When it comes to hotels vs hotel apartments, the past couple of years have shown that including both components in a property offers the flexibility to react to ever-changing market trends which in turn helps optimise performance and protects owner’s returns.”
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