European hotels experience a weak August

1st October 2009, 10:15am

All the cities in the HotStats European Chain Hotels survey suffered a drop in RevPAR during August compared to the same month a year ago.

But the rate of decline for most cities was slower than for the first eight months of the year.

Seven out of 10 cities surveyed experienced a decline in occupancy levels relative to performance in August 2008 and nine out of 10 cities experienced a decline in average room rate.

With the exception of Berlin, the cities also showed declining profitability in August year-on year as measured by gross operating profit per available room.

David Bailey, deputy managing director, TRI Hospitality Consulting, said: "In terms of recovery, July was clearly a more positive month than August for European hotel markets and whilst we remain optimistic that the worst of the declines have already occurred, recovery will be gradual."

In the eight months to August 2009, the most significant declines in RevPAR were experienced in the central and eastern European cities of Vienna, Prague and Budapest.

With a drop of 24.7%, Prague was the worst affected market in terms of RevPAR performance. This is a result of a decline in international visitor numbers in the first half of 2008 as well as significant supply increases in recent years.

With the exception of London, all hotel markets surveyed have experienced a double digit percentage drop in profit per available room (GOP PAR) in the eight months to August 2009. London hoteliers were able to limit declines in profit levels as a result of surprisingly buoyant performance levels and tight control over costs.

Related Articles:

• 05 Jan 2010 - Occupancy and average room rates soar at London hotels
• 26 Nov 2009 - The London hotel market records second highest occupancy performance in 2009
• 11 Nov 2009 - Confidence amongst UK hotel general managers at a high
• 03 Nov 2009 - 'Staycation' trend set to continue throughout 2010 giving tourism a boost
• 02 Nov 2009 - London hoteliers lead the way
• 30 Oct 2009 - The latest issue of London Hotel Development Monitor now available
• 28 Oct 2009 - London hoteliers boost profits
• 28 Sep 2009 - Holiday makers boost occupancy levels for UK hotels
• 26 Aug 2009 - London Hotel occupancy exceeds 2008 levels
• 24 Aug 2009 - TRI partners with Visit London
• 18 Aug 2009 - UK hotel general managers remain positive
• 28 Jul 2009 - Occupancy levels hold up at London hotels
• 25 Jun 2009 - Recession has less impact on UK hotels
• 22 May 2009 - London occupancy stays above 80%
• 28 Apr 2009 - Lower hotel room rates keep occupancy high
• 27 Apr 2009 - UK hotel managers are more optimistic
• 24 Apr 2009 - UK hotels experience heavy falls in profit
• 30 Mar 2009 - Mixed performance across key city hotel markets
• 25 Mar 2009 - Profit down by 17% at London hotels
• 03 Mar 2009 - Hotel's revenue and profit continues to fall
• 25 Feb 2009 - Hotel profits fall by almost one third
• 23 Feb 2009 - TRI Hospitality Consulting wins hotel report award
• 09 Feb 2009 - UK hotels face most challenging conditions in 17 years
• 28 Jan 2009 - 64% of hotel managers concerned for 2009
• 28 Jan 2009 - Flat profit at London hotels

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