Dubai hotels witnessed their highest demand growth in December for five years while room rates continued to fall, according to latest figures from analysts STR.
Its preliminary December 2016 data for Dubai indicated strong demand growth of more than nine percent while lower rates last month were consistent with significant supply growth.
STR said hotel occupancy in Dubai exceeded 95 percent on New Year’s Eve, boosting the month’s rate by more than three percent.
Based on daily data from December, Dubai reported supply growth of 5.7 percent while demand jumped by 9.1 percent, STR said.
The figures showed that occupancy in December rose by 3.2 percent to 79.7 percent compared to December 2015.
Average daily rates (ADR) fell by 8.4 percent to AED824.58 last month while revenue per available room (RevPAR) also dropped by 5.4 percent to AED657.37
STR said in a statement: “This was Dubai’s highest December demand increase since 2011. The month closed with three consecutive nights of occupancy above 90 percent, including a level of more than 95 percent on New Year’s Eve.
“Supply continues to grow in Dubai as the market prepares to host Expo 2020. STR analysts also note that while Dubai’s ADR decreased year over year, the metric is beginning to trend towards its usual Q1 levels, which are traditionally the highest of the year,” it added.
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