But low levels have "not so far to fall" - STR Global
Hotels in Germany beat the average rate of European decline in occupancy, daily rates and room revenues in the first seven months, new figures from STR Global show.
But STR and German partner Fairmas said levels had fallen from a low starting point year-on-year.
In the seven months to July 2009, German occupancy fell 6% year-on-year compared to the average European decline of 9%.
But occupancy in Europe remained high at 59.6% over the period while the level in Germany stood almost 3% lower at 57.8%.
"Whilst the change over the previous year may not appear so significant, it is important to note that the actual figures for Germany are already low so, there is not so far to fall," said Wolfgang Gattringer, Fairmas' director of business development.
Average daily rate (ADR) in Germany fell 6.7% year-on-year compared to the rest of Europe which saw a 12.1% drop.
European revenue per available room (revPAR) declined 20% on the previous year while Germany's hotels fared better at -12.3%.
STR said different markets within Germany had fared better than others due to the strength of leisure demand.
Willy Weiland, InterContinental Hotels Group's vp for Germany, said occupancy in Berlin had "barely fallen" as it had a strong leisure infrastructure.
But Mr Weiland said that while leisure occupancy in the German capital had made up for falling business travel demand, ADR had suffered as a result.
RevPAR in Berlin also fell 11.1% in the year to July compared to 2008 as a result of falling room rates.
STR said market forecasts plus the country's improved GDP suggested better times for Germany's hotels.
But Elizabeth Randall, STR Global's managing director, warned: "It is too early to call the impact of a single quarter's growth on the German hotel market.
"Our Hotel Market Forecast reports for the major German cities do however point to slow recovery with only small declines into 2010."
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