by Rania Ghanem  The 2016 average room rate in Beirut hotels was the same level as that in 1996, which was $166. Significant changes however had been registered over the years with rates reaching their peak of $281 in 2009. Both figures were stated in the recent report: ‘2017 Middle East hotel survey – Chaos consolidation and opportunity’ by HVS, a global hotel consulting firm. Pierre Achkar, Chairman of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners, said: “Rates should have at least doubled during this 20-year period,” especially since GDP has more than tripled from $15 billion to $50 billion. The average occupancy rate at Beirut hotels during the last twenty years (1996-2016) was 54 percent. Occupancy rate was also 54 percent last year, registering a 20 percent decrease from 1996. Occupancy rates reached a peak of 71 percent in 2004. Beirut had the lowest rate among 14 cities in the Middle East that have complete data for the covered period. The survey covers three, four, and five star hotels in 42 cities regionally. The compound annual growth for rates per available room (RevPAR) grew one percent during this period. It reached $88 last year increasing from $75 in 1996. RevPAR reached its peak ($197) in 2009. Achkar said: “Occupancy and room rates remained stable in the country, although the number of hotel beds didn’t increase much.” In other cities, like Dubai, RevPAR increased from $120 in 1996 to $205 last year, in parallel with a large increase in the number of hotel beds. Reported by