Rezidor Hotels today (April 16) reported a post tax loss of €17.7m for the first three months of 2010, a slight improvement on the €19.2m deficit for the same period last year.
The hotel group, part of the Carlson empire, said it have enjoyed a 5.8% rise in occupancy during the three months to the end of March.
But said this had been "fully offset" by a 5.6% drop in average room rates (ARR).
But the group said that while the increase in occupancy continued throughout the three months, the fall in ARR slowed during the period.
Rezidor said that revenue during Q1 was flat and that it had made a pre-tax loss of €11.5m, compared to €14.9m in the same quarter in 2009.
RevPAR (revenue per available room) fell marginally by 0.1% to €54.7.
Regionally, Rezidor said revPAR dropped 5.1% in the Nordics, mainly through a fall of 4.8% in ARR.
Denmark saw a 13% revPAR decline because of lower levels of corporate business.
In Western Europe, Rezidor said revPAR rose by 6.1%, driven by an 8.1% rise in occupancy which more than offset a 1.8% fall in ARR.
Germany (18.3%), Switzerland (12.3%) and the Netherlands (10.9%) all saw good increases in revPAR.
In Eastern Europe there was a 7.8% decline in revPAR, driven by a 13.1% fall in ARR which was not offset by a 6.2% rise in occupancy.
Kurt Ritter, Rezidor's president and ceo, said the group would continue to focus on "tight cost control and maintaining the reduced level of fixed costs."
He added: "Cash and margin protection remain the top priorities for 2010."
www.rezidor.com