Doha hotel payroll higher than anywhere else in Middle East
Payroll per available room (LPAR) in Doha hotels is currently higher than anywhere else in the Middle East.
As explained by STR: “LPAR is used to calculate hotel labour costs on a per-available-room basis to produce a clear picture of how much a hotel spends in labour expenses across all rooms available in any given time period.”
Doha hotels for H1 2021 had an LPAR of US$53, down 23 per cent from 2019’s US$68. Gives the Qatari capital the highest LPAR, with Jeddah next at US$50, a 22 per cent decrease against H1 2019. Abu Dhabi had US$38; Bahrain had US$45; Cairo had US$24; Dubai had US$39; Kuwait City had US$40; Muscat had US$46 and Riyadh had US$48.
HotStats, the firm that reported the results explained: “Labour, a hotel’s largest cost, was first to be stomped out, either through layoff or furlough. The result was that most global regions saw payroll costs drop precipitously in April 2020, a short time after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic.
“A year later, payroll costs are inching back up, closer to pre-pandemic levels as hotels reopen and demand increases. The challenge for operators will be their handling of a scarcity of qualified labour and the cost to secure it.”
Looking at another KPI, Doha is predicted to boast higher occupancy rates this year than both Dubai and Riyadh – long two of the busiest tourist hubs in the region. The city is forecast 70 per cent FY occupancies compared to 69 per cent on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. Colliers International’s August 2021 MENA Hotel Forecast expects a 16 per cent YOY improvement for Doha’s hotel occupancies.
“As we move through 2021, we begin to observe several markets build on recovery began in Q4 2020. Ongoing monitoring of the Covid-19 pandemic by government entities and other key touristic stakeholders has informed how markets open and close. While travel restrictions are easing, controlled and consistent growth is key to recovering, and in the future, improving on the hospitality performance in the key markets,” said Colliers.