The hotel industry in Beirut, Lebanon, reported a drop in its average occupancy rate for the first four months of 2011, according to an Ernst & Young survey of the Middle East hotel sector.

The city’s average occupancy rate was 50% compared with 72% during the same period in 2010, reports dailystar.com.lb.

Beirut’s average rate per room was $203, a decline of 19.5% year-on-year.

Revenue per available room was $103 compared with $182 in the same period last year, a drop of 43.6% year-on-year compared with a 16% decrease across the Middle East region.