New data shows that hotels continued to feel the impact of the economic slowdown last month. Analysts say Dubai has been hit especially hard because more hotel rooms became available at the same time that demand became weak, forcing hotels to cut rates sharply. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotel executive vice president for the Middle East and North Africa said “Because of the drop in occupancy there has been a bit of a panic on board and there have been massive rate cuts and promotions going on and packages.”
STR Global data shows hotel occupancy rates in Dubai dropped from 75.8% in June 2008 to 64.6% this June, a 14.8% drop. The average room rates fell from Dh786.85 last June to Dh610.44 this June. This pushed Dubai’s revenue per available room (RevPar) down from Dh596.18 last June to Dh394.05 this year, a drop of more than one third.
