France September 2008 Performance | Expected drops In the Revenue per available rooms but concerns remain for the future
- The Revenue per available room of French chain hotels shows in September 2008 a drop of 3.8%. This expected result is attributed to a remarkable September 2007. More particularly Paris suffered from the absence of the Rugby World Cup this year. On a national level, the global occupancy rate dropped by 3.4 points. Whereas, economic hotels are proving their ability to resist, the upscale category is more affected with a drop of its occupancy and average daily rates.
- In a global economic decline environment, the drop in occupancy is not only limited to this past September but has been felt since the beginning of the summer. The collapse of the world's stock exchanges should increase this negative effect by causing a decrease in business clientele and corporate seminars. This decrease could thus lead to a down cycle of average daily rates.
- Contrary to previous crises, the hotel industry nowadays has more efficient Revenue management tools, allowing for daily activity analysis. Hoteliers can in turn regulate their commercial and rate fixing strategies more effectively and prevent an undesirable price war throughout the sector.
