Occupancy rates of hotels in Riyadh rose 29.4 percent to 62.7 percent in November 2012, new figures released by STR Global showed, further revealing that Riyadh hotels experienced a 32.5 percent uplift in revenue per available room (RevPAR that month. The Middle East/Africa region reported mixed hotel performance results in November, STR Global said. The region's occupancy increased 0.9 percent to 65.9 percent during the month, its average daily rates (ADR) fell 6.2 percent to $172.82 and RevPAR decreased 5.4 percent to $113.89. “Cairo continued to pick up again in performance as demand for hotel rooms increased 37.4 percent for November and 23.7 percent year to November,” said Elizabeth Randall Winkle, managing director of STR Global. “Occupancy for November was the highest so far this year with 53.9 percent — obviously still behind its November 2008 peak of more than 80 percent occupancy. “Beirut, in contrast, reported the lowest occupancy (35.1 percent) for a month since May 2008”, Winkle added. “The ongoing Syrian conflict, the October bombing in Beirut itself and heightened travel advisories have contributed to the decreased demand to the city.” STR Global data also showed that hotels in the UAE posted mixed results in November. Occupancy rates in Abu Dhabi and Dubai averaged 82.4 percent, up 0.5 percent, while ADR fell 1.1 percent and RevPAR declined 0.6 percent compared to November 2011. — SG
