Meetings boost for hotels in Istanbul and Paris; London leads UK pack

TRI Hospitality Consulting’s latest HotStats report into the European hotel industry shows Istanbul recording hefty double digit room rate rises and Budapest and Paris also among those making big gains at the end of 2011.
 
Istanbul (pictured) saw average room rates soar year-on-year by 17.6 per cent to €193. The figures are due mainly to continuing demand from Russian and CIS travellers, while Budapest benefited from a run of conferences, bringing average rates up 8.4 per cent.
 
Events, including the Tennis Masters, also powered Paris occupancy rates to 81 per cent in November 2011. Average rates at €204, made the French capital’s prices the highest of any European city.
 
Rome, possibly reflecting the mood of economic crisis in Italy saw occupancy drop 6.4 per cent to 64 per cent. The fall wiped out a 3.5 per cent increase in average room rates in November 2011.
 
High labour costs in Dublin amounted to 40 per cent of revenues and were affecting profitability, the HotStats report noted.
 
David Bailey, Deputy MD at TRI Hospitality Consulting, said: “We reflect on what has been largely a year of recovery for the European hotel markets following challenging periods of operation in 2009 and 2010.
 
“However, following the recent volatility and uncertainty surrounding the European economy and the typical seasonal lull in permance levels during the festive season it will remain to be seen if this recovery can be maintained.”
 
In the UK, meanwhile, research released by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services, also for November 2011, revealed a two per cent year-on-year increase in room rates in London to £139.
 
But this was effectively wiped out by a fall of 1.6 percentage points in occupancy rates to 84.4 per cent over the same period.
 
UK regions represent a tougher market, with a drop of 2.2 per cent in room yield to £42.83 in November 2011, down from £43.78 12 months earlier.
 
The figure came from a 0.9 per cent rise in occupancy over the period being offset in a 3.1 per cent drop in room rate to £60.85 in the year to November 2011.
 
Robert Barnard, Partner for Hotel Consultancy Services at PKF, said: “When viewed against a backdrop of plunging business and consumer confidence, lack lustre retail sales for much of the last quarter and the ongoing concerns about the future of the euro, these results suggest that hoteliers are battling the storms more successfully than many other parts of the economy.”
 
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