European hospitality industry reported decreased results in October 2016. Declines were recorded in the three key metrics. The occupancy was nearly flat, only 0.4% down to 75.3%. The average daily rate (ADR) fell by 1.6% to EUR113.51, triggering decline in revenue per available room (RevPAR) of 2.0% to EUR85.47.
Naturally, some destinations performed better than others. The hospitality industry of Portugal is definitely on the rise. The growth of ADR in October estimated 13.0% and its value (EUR94.78) was the highest since October 2003. The occupancy was also growing and added 3.0% to 77.8% in total. Consequently, RevPAR was growing as well and added 16.3% to EUR73.72. The reason for such success may be in increased tourist arrivals more vacationers prefer Portugal due to safety concerns in France or Turkey. The biggest growth of RevPAR (+21.5% to EUR51.90) in October 2016 was reached by hotels in Slovakia. Despite the increase of ADR of 12.8% to EUR70.42, the occupancy kept growing and reached 73.7% (+7.7%). Slovakian hotels performed significantly better on weekends than on weekdays, proving that the country’s popularity as a tourist destination is growing. The UK, at the same time, had a weaker month if compared to October 2015. The decline of occupancy estimated 1.8% to 80.9%, and ADR dropped by 2.9% to GBP91.84, making RevPAR lose 4.7% to GBP 74.29. However, the year-over-year decrease was expected as in October 2015 the country hosted the Rugby World Cup, and the event attracted many guests. As the supply of hotels in the UK keeps growing, the local hospitality industry is expected to face more challenges in future.
The highest occupancy level in October 2016 was reached by hotels in Budapest, Hungary. The growth of occupancy estimated 15.5% to 87.7%. The rise of ADR was 8.8% to HUF27,939. This made RevPAR grow as well, so it added 25.6% to HUF24,515 in October. According to experts, Budapest will retain its strong performance as it’s a popular and affordable destination. Another strong performing city of Europe in October 2016 was Sofia, Bulgaria. Hotels in Sofia enjoyed the growth of occupancy of 10.1% to 76.3%, and ADR added 9.0% (BGN148.48), making RevPAR grow by 20.0% to BGN113.26.