"When we look at ourselves, we feel sorry. When we compare ourselves, we console ourselves". French hoteliers can always ponder Talleyrand's maxim by analysing the business indicators presented by MKG. The year 2020 will obviously go down as one of the worst in their history, with a unprecedented fall of -61.3 % of income per bedroom. And yet, amid the general upheaval of successive confinements and closed borders, France has proved the most resilient of all European countries.
RevPAR down by more than 70 % in the United Kingdom, with falls of between -75 % and -80 % in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, culminating in a record -83.3% in the Czech Republic: the picture is even bleaker in most of the continent's countries. That leaves Germany, which, with -63.8 %, is holding its own like France, albeit with some difficulty. Unlike their neighbours, who are dependent on international tourism, these two countries can count on the size of their tourist industry. their domestic market and a budget hotel sector developed to limit damage.
In France, the summer season, which was favourable for leisure destinations, enabled the hotel industry to post a drop of "only" 35.3 % in revenue per room in August. " The west coastfrom the Atlantic coast to Brittany, clearly stands out as the anchor of a French hotel industry that weathered the storm in 2020, with occupancy rates back above 80% as early as August and still above 50% in October." notes MKG.
While secondary conurbations, which are less exposed to international demand, held up rather better over the year as a whole, the major cities, which are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in business demand, saw very sharp falls in activity. " Due to the nature of their customer base, the impact of the fall in air traffic and the cancellation of conventions and trade shows, the major cities saw their RevPAR fall sharply in 2020." says MKG Consulting. Paris (-73.1%)Nice/Cannes (-68.4%), Strasbourg (-69.4%): all of these cities recorded falls above the national average.
In addition to the widespread use of teleworking, and its impact on business travel, the French capital has seen its long-haul international clientele evaporate as a result of travel restrictions and the cancellation of most major conferences. All of these factors had a negative impact on the city's top-of-the-range hotels, the traditional driving force behind its business. Nationwide, occupancy of 4* and 5* hotels is just over 20 %, compared with 72.8% in 2019. " Almost a fifth of the park has never even reopened in the year, due to a lack of activity" says MKG.
Paris, the world's leading conference destination, is not unique in Europe, as the continent's top 20 cities by CICA classification in 2019 saw their sales fall by an average of 79.4 % over 2020.
What can we expect from 2021, when the year has started again on the same basis as 2020, with curfews and confinement? It's still a little early to be betting on a year as dark as the last. " It's more like the period from March to October which is important for hotel professionalscommented Vanguélis Panayotis, CEO of MKG Consulting. We must not lose sight of the fact that the medium- and long-term fundamentals remain solidly anchored, offering the sector hopes of recovery. Moreover, the hotel industry has always shown its ability to bounce back quickly from sudden downturns. "Let's accept the omen.
