Italy’s occupancy improves | STR Reports

In line with the pattern seen across most of Europe, recent hotel performance in Italy shows levels of occupancy returning whilst average daily rates (ADR) lag behind, according to data from STR Global, the leading provider of market data to the world’s hotel industry.

“Demand (occupied hotel rooms) is up in the majority of Italian hotel markets we survey, which, together with fairly static supply (available rooms), is driving occupancies”, said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global. “It can be expected that in the normal course of events ADR will trend upward as a result of stronger occupancies”.

Occupancy across most Italian markets during the first quarter of 2010 has been fairly robust compared to the previous year, with several markets showing strong double-digit growth. The occupancies in Turin have improved by over a fifth. By contrast, ADR is largely in negative territory. Nevertheless, the general improvement in occupancy between 2010 and 2009 has breathed some life into the Italian hotel market, and results in just less than half the markets surveyed are showing growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR).

It is worth recalling that 2009 was a very weak time with the global financial crisis. Looking back a further 12 months to before the crisis, all markets, barring Naples & Perugia, still have much ground to make up on 2008.

“The Italian hotel market is expected to see recovery and not growth during the course of 2010, but it would be prudent to avoid excessive optimism”, said Marco Malacrida, director of STR Global in Italy.