Five-star hotels enjoyed 61.63pc occupancy in 2011

Five-star hotels in Kathmandu and Pokhara achieved 61.63 percent occupancy rate in 2011, thanks to improved tourist arrivals.

Of the 641,670 room nights available in 10 five-star property (eight in Kathmandu and two in Pokhara) in 2011, 395,459 rooms were sold, according to the hotel occupancy rate indicator compiled for the first time by the Tourism Ministry in co-ordination with the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN).

The stat shows the hotels recorded the highest occupancy in November, followed by October, April, March and February.

Nepal generally has two peak tourist seasons—March-April in spring and October-November in autumn. And, the hotel occupancy figures also reflect the trend. The five-star property saw 85.96 percent and 77.43 percent room occupancy in November and October, respectively, last year. The tourist arrivals figure shows 83,427 international visitors in the month of November and 96,970 in October. The lowest occupancy was recorded in January last year.

According to Shangri-La Hotel, it collected record high revenues, closing November transactions with over 96 percent occupancy. Similar is the case at the Hotel de l’ Annapurna and Hotel Soaltee that recorded highest revenues in November. The stat shows strong occupancy in all Kathmandu-based five-star hotels, but the occupancy rate in two five-star property in Pokhara—Fulbari Resort and Spa and Grand Hotel—did not match expectations during the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 (NTY 2011).

Kathmandu-based five-star property registered 66.11 percent year-on-year growth in occupancy in 2011. The highest 89.81 percent room night occupancy was recorded in November in Kathmandu-based hotels. Besides November figures, hotels made highest sales in October (82.31 percent), April (73.65 percent), March (68.46 percent), February (65.08 percent), May (63.54 percent), August (62.07 percent), June (61.48 percent) and September (61.09 percent). However, January and July saw modest sales with 51.89 percent and 51.34 percent occupancy rate, respectively.

Two Pokhara-based five-star property registered a meager 38.27 percent occupancy in 2011. Of the 103,295 night rooms available in the hotels, just 39,534 rooms were sold last year, according to the statistics.

Their occupancy rate was the highest in November and October in autumn and February, March and April in spring. In October and November, the Pokhara hotels recorded 51.98 percent and 65.92 percent occupancy, respectively. The figure in February, March and April were 48.26 percent, 34.16 percent and 36.90 percent, respectively.

The hotels saw the lowest occupancy in July, January, and August with 27.96 percent, 31.68 percent, and 31.04 percent, respectively.

The stats show arrivals factor determining the demand and supply side. As the country recorded the highest arrivals in November, October and April, occupancy rate was also high in these months.

source: The Kathmandu Post, 3 March 2012