Dubai: Initial data on Abu Dhabi hotels released by STR on Monday highlighted that increases in supply had outstripped demand by 1.5 per cent, whilst room occupancy was down -1.4 per cent to 74.2 per cent.
The findings from STR, a data analytics service headquartered in London, England, are based on daily data from January, presenting year over year comparisons on rates and occupancy.
The preliminary data indicates sharp rate declines, including a drop of -10 per cent in the city’s average daily rate (ADR) to Dh 465.80.
In addition to the fall in ADR, the revenue per available room (RevPAR) slipped by -11.2 per cent to Dh 345.68.
STR analysts note in the statement that Abu Dhabi’s ADR levels were once again pressured by supply growth in the market. However, the market’s hotels did record a significant uptick in RevPAR (+23.6%) on the last day of the month, mainly due to the Global Space Congress (January 31-February 1).
The situation is largely the same in Dubai, with a number of new hotels in 2016 coupled with slower demand pushing hotels’ profits down 6.8 per cent year-on-year.
In the first half of last year, the profit per room of hotels in Dubai suffered under the pressure of this additional supply, falling by 13.2 per cent. This was primarily due to a declining RevPAR, which dropped by 11.3 per cent.
