Doha: Qatar’s hospitality sector witnessed a strong growth with hotels across segments seeing an increase in occupancy rates. Among the hotels, two and one-star hotels recorded the highest occupancy rate in December last year.
The supply of hotel rooms in Qatar surged towards the end of 2022, as a number of new establishments opened for business in time for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Hotels including Fairmont, The Ned, The Chedi Katara, Raffles, Wyndham The Beach, and The Waldorf Astoria in Lusail contributed to an increase in room numbers of more than 7,000 in 2022, according to Cushman & Wakefield fourth quarter report.
Hotel apartment supply grew by more than 1,600 keys in 2022, as buildings including Element City Centre and Element West Bay opened their doors.
The real estate consultancy estimates that the overall supply of hotel keys reached approximately 37,000 keys ahead of the World Cup, which represented a 125 percent increase in less than 10 years. The overall Average Daily Rates for November and December were QR3,140 and QR2,610 respectively. Both months recorded more than 300 percent increase in 2021 rates – highlighting the premium prices achieved during the FIFA World Cup.
The Planning and Statistics Authority data shows that the occupancy rate of two and one star hotels surged to 92 percent in December last year against 64 percent in the same period in 2021. The hotel and hotel apartments’ revenue per available room for five-star hotels stood at QR1,806 in December 2022, compared to QR445 in December 2021, showing a surge of 306 percent. In case of four-star hotels, it jumped to QR706 in December last year against QR208 in the same month in 2021; QR620 in three star and QR393 in two and one star hotels in the review period.
The overall revenue per available room reached QR1,281 in December 2022 compared to QR332, showing a rise of 286 percent on a yearly basis. The average room rate for deluxe and standard hotel apartments rose to QR1,626 and QR935 respectively in December. The average room rate for five-star hotels showed an increase of QR3,140 and for four star hotels it rose to QR1,128. The overall hotel and hotel apartment average room rate was QR2,112 in December 2022, against QR493 in December 2021.
The hospitality sector recorded 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.
Qatar aims to triple the number of visitors to 6 million by 2030. The expansion of the tourism sector is to capitalise on the infrastructure put in place for 2022. The expanding hotel sector, and associated F&B operations, will rely on Qatar significantly increase visitor numbers in the short to medium terms to support occupancy rates and maintain revenues.
