Almost half of Jeddah’s hotel rooms were booked in March

JEDDAH: The hotel industry in Saudi Arabia’s commercial center reported one of its highest monthly occupancy levels of the COVID-19 pandemic period, according to preliminary March 2021 data from the hotel management analytics firm Smith Travel Research (STR).

According to the figures, hotel occupancy in Jeddah reached 47.1 percent in March, and the revenue per available room (RevPAR) reached SR318.72 ($84.99).

March occupancy and RevPAR rates were the second-highest since February 2020, just behind figures for January 2021. However, the average daily rate for hotel rooms was SR676.36, remaining in line with the levels recorded in the second half of 2020.

Earlier this month, a report by STR found that Saudi Arabia has the world’s biggest hotel pipeline, anticipating a 67.1 percent increase in room supply over the next three years, the highest among the 50 most populated countries. The data showed 73,057 rooms in the Saudi hotel pipeline, with 16,965 scheduled to come online in 2021. 

The Jeddah hotel market is expected to increase hotel supply by more than 97 percent, with 11,198 rooms under development.