Qatar property renters are looking to value hotels over standard apartments, according to property portal hapondo.
Hotel apartments recorded a higher occupancy rate by the end of 2023 than in December 2022 as residential tenants became increasingly drawn to the convenience and affordability of living in serviced apartments.
Deluxe hotel apartments’ average occupancy increased from 60 per cent in December 2022 to 76 per cent in December 2023, while standard hotel apartments rose from 52 per cent to 73 per cent during the same period, according to data from Qatar’s Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA).
Qatar real estate rents
Qatar-based property hapondo attributes this positive performance to the competitive prices that hotel apartments have been offering to take a greater share of the traditional tenant market.
In its Qatar Property Report Q4 2023, hapondo shows a narrow difference between the median rent of one-bedroom (1BR) apartments and hotel apartments in areas such as Al Sadd and Al Mansoura, where the premium was 13.3 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively.
This meant that a tenant paying for the 1BR median rent of QR7,000 ($1,920) monthly in Al Mansoura only needed to add QR500 ($137) to live in a hotel apartment.
The median rents of hotel apartments in Salata, Umm Ghuwailina, and Old Airport listed on hapondo were, in fact, already more affordable than regular apartments in Q4 2023.
In Umm Ghuwailina and Old Airport, the median rent of a 1BR hotel apartment was 28 per cent lower than a regular apartment.
A 2BR hotel apartment unit was 14 per cent more affordable than a traditional apartment.
In Q4 2023, Al Mansoura and Old Airport were ranked fifth and eighth in the most searched locations for apartment rental on hapondo – a jump from their seventh and 11th places in the previous quarter.
Ahmad Al-Khanji, CEO and Co-Founder of hapondo, said: “When property seekers search for apartment rental, it’s not just about the lowest rent but also value for money that they take into careful consideration.
“Hotels are already known for great service and facilities, and the offer can become irresistible if the difference were to be small.”
While some apartments have hotel-like amenities such as pools and common areas, hotels are located much more strategically and offer services such as housekeeping and security.
Meanwhile, it was a different story in a central business district like Lusail.
In Lusail’s Marina District, the premium of a hotel apartment compared to a traditional apartment was still substantial at 42 per cent for a 1BR and 34 per cent for a 2BR.
In general, hapondo expects hotels facing occupancy challenges to continue seeking out a bigger slice of the residential market to improve their business performance in 2024.
The average occupancy in December 2023 for Qatar’s hotels was 72 per cent. Five-star and four-star hotels registered 67 per cent and 75 per cent occupancy during the period, according to the PSA.
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