Qatar’s hospitality sector is witnessing a strong rebound with hotels across segments seeing an increase in occupancy rates. Among the hotels, two and one star hotels have recorded the highest occupancy rate in May this year, according to the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) data.
The occupancy rate of two and one star hotels surged to 93 percent in May against 50 percent in the same period last year due to gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions leading to the rise in hotel visitors and guests.
The hotel and hotel apartments in Qatar witnessed a robust performance with the overall occupancy rate being at 58 percent in May 2022. The hotels of all categories, ranging from five star to two and one star, have seen rise in occupancy rates and revenue per available room, according to the data.
The three star hotels occupancy rate has jumped to 86 percent in May 2022 from 82 percent in the same period in 2021. Similarly, the occupancy rate of four star hotels rose to 63 percent in May 2022. In case of five star, the hotels’ occupancy rates stood at 59 percent in the review period.
The occupancy rates of deluxe hotel apartments and standard hotel apartments for May this year were 47 percent and 78 percent respectively.
Hotels in Qatar have also witnessed a rise in revenue per available room which is used to assess a hotel’s ability to fill its available rooms at an average rate.
It is important because it helps hotel industry measure the overall success of their hotel. Revenue per available room for five star hotels increased to QR403 in May 2022 while it rose to QR169 in four star hotels; QR177 in three star; and QR152 in two and one star hotels.
The average room rate for deluxe and standard hotel apartments rose to QR414 and QR200 respectively in May this year. While the average room rate for five star hotel showed an increase of QR686 and incase of four star hotel it rose to QR270. The overall hotel and hotel apartment average room rate was QR507 in May 2022 against QR496 in last year.
According to first quarter real estate market report by ValuStrat research, average occupancy of hotel and hotel apartments (excluding keys being used for quarantine) was 58 percent as of March year to date (YTD) 2022. Average Daily Rate (ADR) for hotels and hotel apartments stood at QR459, up 14 percent over one year. Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has announced 130,000 rooms are available to accommodate the projected 1.5 million fans for World Cup 2022.
Qatar aims to welcome more than six million visitors per year by 2030 and further its tourism offerings in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030. Visitor arrivals point to a steady recovery of Qatar’s tourism sector, with the year-to-date total (580,000) fast approaching the overall arrivals figure of 2021 (611,000), demonstrating a return to pre-pandemic levels of tourism as public health measures for travel ease, according to Qatar Tourism data.
The Colliers, Mena Hotels July 2022 monthly market forecast noted, “Doha has experienced a slight decrease in occupancy over H1, 2022 compared to the previous year. However, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is expected to result in super-normal levels of demand for its duration in the final quarter of the
year.”
