Decline in demand easing - TRI
Europe's chain hotels enjoyed a growth in occupancy in July but at the expense of room rates, the HotStats survey by TRI Hospitality Consulting has shown.
Six out of ten cities reported increases in occupancy last month including Amsterdam which saw the biggest rise in occupancy of 7.9% year-on-year.
But falling room rates hit revenue per available room (revPAR) which also dropped across all ten cities in the survey including London and Paris.
"The pace of decline in room revPAR is moderating in most markets and while it is probably too soon to call it a recovery, we expect that the pace of decline will continue to ease over the course of the next few months," said TRI's managing director Jonathan Langston.
Average room rates (ARR) for the month fell across all ten markets as hotels continued to discount heavily.
Amsterdam's rise in occupancy in July came at the expense of ARR which fell 12.9% year-on-year, the second largest decline after Munich at 18.4%.
TRI said hotels in Europe were "still price sensitive" with many European and US visitors choosing to holiday at home.
Falling revPAR has forced Europe's hotels to cut costs resulting in improved room profits, TRI said.
Mr Langston added: "Whilst London hoteliers were quick to react to declines in demand levels and revenues by reducing their cost base, it has taken continental hotels slightly longer to reduce cost levels.
"However, the majority of European hotel markets have now reined in costs and consequently, the pace of decline in profit per available room has started to moderate."
Hotel consultants STR Global mirrored the findings earlier this week after reporting a slowing in the decline in European occupancy.
STR's figures for July showed average occupancy in Europe down 4.2% year-on-year compared to May and June at 9.7% and 7.3% respectively.
STR found a similar slowing trend in European revPAR which moved from a 21% year-on-year decline in May to a 15.4% drop last month.
www.trihc.com www.strglobal.com