According to Deloitte In Extenso, the general trend in the French hotel industry was one of stagnation in 2013. The slight downturn in occupancy was barely offset by average prices that remained on the rise, thanks to a revamped offer and increasingly sophisticated revenue management. All in all, revenue per room (RevPAR) for the past year ranged from -1% for the super-economy segment to +1% for the top-of-the-range segment. Only the luxury segment stood out in this mixed picture. Buoyed by the contribution of long-haul customers - American, but above all from emerging countries - the most exclusive segment of the French hotel industry shone, with growth in revenue per room of +5%.
While things are going well for Paris's luxury hotels, the year was less productive for the capital's top-of-the-range hotels (+1%), particularly in the face of competition from mid-range establishments (+3%). Stability was also the order of the day for most of the major regional cities - Toulouse, Lille, Strasbourg - with Bordeaux, Nice and above all Marseille, boosted by its status as European Capital of Culture, among the best performers. Montpellier, on the other hand, which seemed to have weathered the crisis in recent years, is beginning to feel the effects of the rapid expansion of its offer. Lyon's establishments have also suffered from new competition, with the opening of several residences in particular. This is all the more true given that the sector is booming throughout France, but even more so in Paris, where average occupancy exceeds 75%.
After the doldrums, a sluggish recovery? Deloitte remains cautious when it comes to its forecasts for hotel activity in 2014, although it does expect some improvement for the current year. Growth in revenue per room is expected to be between +1% and +2%. While, once again, the outlook is very positive for luxury hotels, with growth of between +4% and +6% expected, both budget and mid-range establishments should see their RevPAR rise by between +0.5 and +1.5%, while the top end of the market should do slightly better, with an estimated increase of between +1% and +2.5%. The real barometer of this recovery will be the attitude of MICE customers after a poor 2013. Despite a less favourable events calendar - no Airshow in Paris, for example - a slight improvement is expected in the organisation of seminars.
