HotelNewsNow.com each week features a news roundup from a different region of the world. Today’s review covers the Middle East/Africa region.
MEA September performance
The Middle East/Africa region reported mixed results in the three key performance metrics during September 2011 when reported in U.S. dollars, according to data compiled by STR Global, sister company of HotelNewsNow.com.
The region ended the month with a 0.1% increase in occupancy to 58.4%, a 1.5% fall in average daily rate to US$140.89, and a 1.3% decrease in revenue per available room to US$82.34.
MEA pipeline outlook
The Middle East/Africa hotel development pipeline comprises 481 hotels totaling 130,479 rooms, according to the September 2011 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report.
“The room growth in the region still continues, as 4,390 rooms have been added to the total active pipeline since August,” said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global, in a news release “With 36,205 rooms in the region’s pipeline for 2012 and 29,260 rooms planned for 2013, it is clear the Middle East/Africa region (is) still an attractive region for development.”
Jumeirah expansion
Jumeirah Group intends to double the number of properties it has under management by early 2012, according to a Reuters report.
"We will open in Kuwait, Majorca, and Azerbaijan. We will almost double the number of hotels under management for Jumeirah in a 14 month period," Gerald Lawless, the company’s executive chairman, told the Middle East Investment Summit.
"We have a few other potential projects ‘bubbling’... Some of them are in Europe," he said, adding Jumeirah would count 20 hotels by the end of the first quarter 2012.
City Lodge: 20 African hotels in 5-10 years
City Lodge said it will invest ZAR1.5 billion (US$194.26 million) during the next five to 10 years to build 20 hotels in Africa, according to BusinessDay.
MiddleEastAfrica Ad Will Appear Here
The company, which operates 52 hotels already in South Africa, will focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
"We will be very disappointed if we don’t make announcements in the next six months (on new hotels)," City Lodge CEO Clifford Ross said.
Dubai demand growth
Demand growth in Dubai’s hotel industry was up 16.5% year-to-date through August compared to the previous year, according to STR Global.
Demand growth in Dubai was led by the luxury/upper upscale segment (+17.6%) as moderate new hotel supply (+9.4%) resulted in average room rate growth by 3.1%. In contrast, the midscale/economy segment experienced the strongest new supply growth (+11.3%) year-to-date through August compared to the previous year.
Boutique hotels growing Middle East presence
Boutique hotel properties are increasingly looking at the Middle East for development of late, according to a report in ameinfo.com
While still rare in the region, hotel companies, such as InterContinental Hotels Group, have been more vociferous in bringing in boutique brands.
Notable additions to the boutique scene: the Armani Hotel inside the Burj Khalifa tower; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide’s W hotel in Doha and an Aloft property in Abu Dhabi.
Development and deals
• Marriott International opened its three-hotel Doha City Complex in Qatar, which includes the 257-room Renaissance Doha City Center Hotel; 204-room Courtyard by Marriott Doha City Center; and 123-unit Marriott Executive Apartments Doha City Center.
• Southern Sun Hotels has acquired the recently shuttered Grace Hotel & Office Building in Rosebank, South Africa, from Hyprop Investments. The 73-room Grace Hotel, which closed earlier this year, will be renamed.
• Middle Eastern investment company Capital Hill Hotels Limited has acquired the Sanderson and St Martins Lane hotels from Morgans Hotel Group Company for approximately US$295 million.
• Accor has opened the 76-room Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan in Egypt.
• The 493-room Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh opened in Saudi Arabia.
• Viceroy Hotel Group has rebranded the Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi as the Yas Viceroy, according to travelpulse.com.
• Hard Rock Hotels has a handful of projects in the works in the Middle East, including one in Abu Dhabi which is expected to open in late 2013, and another in Dubai with a tentative launch date in 2014.
Compiled by Shawn A. Turner