Thursday, Sep 03, 2015

Dubai: Hotel rooms in Abu Dhabi and Dubai were substantially more profitable in July 2015 than in the same month a year ago, according to hospitality intelligence company HotStats.

Hoteliers in Abu Dhabi earned on average $11.40 gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) in July 2015 compared to losing $12.45 a room in July 14, according to HotStats data released on Thursday. In Dubai, a room earned hoteliers an average of $36.52, considerably more than the $0.07 earned in July 2014.

The profit growth at hotels in the UAE’ two largest emirates was helped by double digit increases in revenue growth. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) in Abu Dhabi was up 27.2 per cent to $73.01 compared to $57.39 a year ago. In Dubai, revenue increased 18.3 per cent to $120.88 from $102.15.

One factor for the substantial profit and revenue growth is likely to be the timing of the holy month of Ramadan, which ended 10 days earlier in July this year than in 2014.

Occupancy across Abu Dhabi hotels in July this year was 60.8 per cent compared to 50.3 per cent in July 2014. Dubai also saw a 10 percentage point increase in occupancy when comparing July 2014 to July 2015, increasing from 50.3 per cent to 60.2 per cent.

The average cost of a room in Abu Dhabi increased from $114.12 to $120.05. In Dubai, room rates were flat at $200.77. Total revenue per available room (TRevPAR), which includes ancillary sales, was up in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai despite a decline in food and beverage sales. TRevPAR in Abu Dhabi was $163.60, up from $136.46. In Dubai it was $235.05, up from $214.50.

Staff Report

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