April is traditionally not a month when hotels post their best results, and this year’s month was no exception. Even though the results looked quite gloomy at a glance, more detailed approach shows improving stats. While hotels in Paris experienced certain difficulties in April, hotels in provincial France benefited from increased bookings caused by school holidays.
In general, hotel performance in April cannot be called brilliant. Many segments experienced decreases in room revenue. This was particularly noticeable in luxury and super budget hotels. The drop of RevPAR of the luxury segment estimated 8%. Other segments had better results, but budget and midscale hotels had relatively flat results.
As it was explained by Olivie Petit, associate in Extenso Tourism, Culture and Hospitality, the performance was truly mixed. Large French cities experienced double digit growth during one week and steep decline on another week, which is the result of the school holidays. Hotels in Lille, Nantes, Lyon and Marseille were among those that benefited the most from the holidays. This year, holidays were stretched into May, making the last part of April more dynamic. As Paris is well linked to all main cities of the country, the capital suffered as Parisians booked hotels in popular tourist destinations, mostly on the coast, for the school holidays period. Consequently, all segments except upscale hotels posted decline of RevPAR.