The economic crisis is driving down the occupancy rate and revenue of European hotels, a quarterly report by Deloitte has revealed.
According to the study, which tracked bookings and the cost of rooms during the year to September 2008, revenue per available room (revPAR) at European hotels was down 1.5% to €76, thanks to a 1.9% drop in occupancy. Meanwhile average room rates decreased marginally to €112.
Some cities have fared better than others with occupancy in Brussels up by 3.3% and the average cost of a room in the city up by 6.3%, resulting in a 9.8% leap in revPAR to €82. Limited new supply and stable corporate demand from European Commission conferences contributed to this strong performance, said Deloitte.
The best revPAR growth in the Eurozone came from Cyprus – up 11.8% to €88.
On the downside, hotel occupancy in Dublin fell by 5.7% and average room rates declined slightly resulting in a 6.2% drop in rePAR.
Outside of the Eurozone, political stability and a growing interest in religious travel and trips to the Dead Sea helped boost Israel’s hotel industry with revPAR in Tel Aviv up 18.1% to €118 for the first eight months of the year – a trend which is predicted to continue into 2009 when the city celebrates its centenary.
Meanwhile, internet travel portal trivago has also identified a downturn in European hotel room pricing with the average cost of a room having fallen by 4% in November compared with October.
One night in a double room in Paris will cost around £120 this month – last month it was £134 – and the cost of hotel accommodation in Italy has also dropped: a night in a double room in Venice has fallen to £111 from £157 and similar accommodation in Florence has dropped by 25% from October to November to £90 per night.