BEIRUT: Ernst & Young said hotel room reservations in Beirut in the first 11 months of 2011 fell by 28 percent compared to the same period of 2010.It said the occupancy rate at Beirut hotels was the ninth lowest among 21 markets in the region, while it was the eighth lowest in 2010, as reported by Lebanon This Week, Byblos Bank Group’s economic publication.

The survey said the average rate per room at Beirut hotels was $222 in the first 11 months of 2011, ranking the capital’s hotels as the seventh most expensive in the region.

The average rate per room at Beirut hotels decreased by 14 percent year-on-year and posted the third steepest decrease among all markets in the region, behind Hurghada and Sharm El Shaikh in Egypt.

The average rate per room in Beirut came above the regional average of $188.2, which declined by 1.8 percent from $191.7 in the same period of 2010. Occupancy rates at Beirut hotels were 44 percent in January, 42 percent in February, 53 percent in March, 61 percent in April, 58 percent in May, 62 percent in June, 67 percent in July, 31 percent in August, 76 percent in September, and 74 percent in November; compared to 64 percent in January, 76 percent in February, 68 percent in March, 79 percent in April, 71 percent in May, 77 percent in June, 80 percent in July, 43 percent in August, 53 percent in September, and 73 percent in November 2010.

Revenues per available room (RevPAR) were $129 in Beirut in the first 11 months of 2011, down from $178 in the same period last year, ranking it in 12th place in the region behind Riyadh and Madina.

Beirut’s RevPAR was down 27.6 percent year-on-year, compared to a decrease of 10 percent across the region.