As we look ahead to 2020, the practice In Extenso drew up a gloomy assessment of the situation at its annual conference. the French hotel industry. Revenue per room (RevPAR), the industry's benchmark, has undergone a number of changes in recent years. a decline of 55 % compared with 2019, this figure including both open and closed hotels. Unsurprisingly, their occupancy levels, subject to confinement rules and travel restrictions, reached an all-time low, at just 32 % over the whole year. Abysmal... " The pandemic generated a crisis unlike any previously experienced by players in the sector, the consequences of which appear, in retrospect, to have been very serious, derisory in the face of the current crisis" notes the consultancy.
Hotels in France's major cities, which are more dependent on business customers and MICE events, have naturally been hard hit. In the Paris hotel sector, for example, RevPAR fell by 74 1Q3 The Côte d'Azur saw a decline of 65 %, with the absence of international tourists partly offset by domestic leisure customers. In this context, buoyed by a good summer season on the coasts, hotels in the regions saw their RevPAR fall by "only" 47 %, despite the difficulties experienced in their major conurbations.
Regions outperforming major cities, and budget hotels more resilient than upmarket and luxury categories: these two trends are identical throughout Europe, and even more so than in France. According to the firm STRthe European hotel industry saw its sales fall by 72 %, while Global RevPAR down 50 % on average. Taking into account all hotels opened and closed, European hotel occupancy stood at just 25 % in 2020. This level is broadly similar to that seen in Africa or South America, but is down on China (44 %), the United States (40 %) or the Middle East (39 %).
However, if there are already signs of recovery in some parts of the worldWith occupancy rates in excess of 50 % in Dubai, Beijing and Singapore, the European hotel industry is still lagging behind. " 2021 has not got off to the best of starts, with hotel occupancy still very lowsays Aoife Roche, Hotels Sales Director at STR. The next 90 days will be difficult in all of Europe's major cities. But there is hope for the longer termparticularly from the fourth quarter onwards. Patience is a virtue. "According to STR, hotel occupancy around the world - excluding China - should only be 10 to 15 points lower at the end of the year than in 2019. In the end, however, the firm expects global RevPAR to fall by between 50 % and 60 % compared with 2019.
In its analysis, In Extenso notes that in France, " six hoteliers out of ten believe a possible return to normality after more than a year. The majority of closed hotels - around a quarter of the hotels in the portfolio in December - still do not know when they will reopen. "In this context, the recovery of French tourism is highly dependent on " the upturn in air traffic and the return of international and MICE customers. The events calendar could resume in the second half of the year, to the end of the state of health emergency, as demonstrated by the announcement that the Cannes Film Festival will be postponed until July. "
With virtually no activity for conferences and major events, at least at the beginning of the year, and ever-fluctuating business demandThe best will come first and foremost from domestic leisure tourism. In this context, Caroline Leboucher, CEO of Atout France, emphasised at the In Extenso annual conference that " Building customer loyalty and attracting new, sometimes local, customers will be major challenges for hoteliers when they take over. Hence the need for hoteliers to arouse customers' curiosity, keep them informed and make them want to come back, in particular by developing their digital presence and designing hotels as places where local culture and a sense of travel coexist. "
" The crisis will mean that the sector will be more digital, more responsible, but also more efficient" says Béatrice Guedj, Head of Research and Innovation at Swiss Life Asset Managers France. Despite the brutality of the short-term shock, the hotel sector remains attractive to long-term investors. The recovery will begin in 2023This horizon is now widely accepted. "
"The crisis will have a lasting impact on the profession" Philippe Gauguier, partner at In Extenso TCH, also believes that a number of factors will play a role in the future: teleworking, the use of digital technology, customers' expectations in terms of sustainable development, an increased appetite for national destinations, but also, and this is positive, the desire to consume hotels and restaurants that was evident at the end of the first lockdown. " Words like "staycation" have also appeared, such as "workation which show that expectations of the hotel offer are changing" he added.
Conference guest Satya Anand, President EMEA of Marriott Internationalunderlined that " every period of upheaval has a positive side and that of covid is no different. We have had to raise our health protocols to provide a safer environment for our employees and travellers alike. We have had to speed up the development of our digital experience offering. A lot of things will stay the same. "
A number of professionals invited to take part in the conference also shared their views. " Today, we have reopened the kitchens so that our customers can eat as well as they do in the restaurant.said Frédéric Josenhans, CEO of Grape Hospitality Group & France Hostels. In the past, restoration was sometimes limited to a few jars. There was no click & collect. Only those who succeed in this transformation will survive the post-crisis period. The others will be eaten by Airbnb. "
In this context, one type of hotel has proved more resilient than others recently: lifestyle. " Take one of our hotels, the Mama Shelter Toulouse: it did a lot of takeaways during the period and at the same time attracted more residents thanks to its more attractive room service.said Pierre Mattei, CEO of Keys REIM. The change is accelerating with hotels and very strong on the F&B side. "Jean-Baptiste Martin, CEO of Suitcase Hospitality, also notes that, before, ". hotel catering wasn't always glamorous. Here, new entrants have come to bolster the team.Cultivate all this with sound, light and local produce. Restaurants and bars will be essential tomorrow. Thanks to them, business travellers won't feel like they're in an office hotel and may want to stay longer because they're having a good time.. "
