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| Lithuania-Vilnius |
The European hotel industry posted positive results in year-over-year metrics when reported in U.S. dollars, Euros and British pounds for December 2013, according to data compiled by STR Global.
“2013 served as the beginning of the recovery for most of Europe’s economies and the hotel industry as a whole”, Naureen Ahmed, manager of marketing & analysis, said, adding that hotel demand grew 3.3% for the year.
“However, this came at the expense of rate. RevPAR remains €4 from pre-recession levels achieved in 2007”, Ahmed said. “Southern Europe’s 6% RevPAR growth was one of the pleasant surprises of 2013. It is coming from a low base; however, it’s encouraging to see some growth in occupancy and ADR in the countries from these regions”.
Ahmed said Europe’s hotel pipeline also has some interesting trends, including:
The U.K. has 38% of the total share of rooms to come online within Europe in 2014.
Russia, where all eyes are currently on the impending the Winter Olympics in Sochi, has an expected supply increase of 96%.
Spain is among the top five European countries with the largest pipelines, with an additional 4,000 rooms scheduled to open.
“There appears to be some positives coming out of Southern Europe after several years of gloomy news”, Ahmed said. “All of Europe is pleased that the signs of recovery are beginning to take a foothold”.
Highlights from key market performers for December 2013 include (year-over-year comparisons, all currency in Euros):
Two markets experienced occupancy growth of more than 15 percent: Vilnius, Lithuania (+15.9 percent to 49.8 percent) and Tel Aviv, Israel (+15.5 percent to 62.1 percent).
Istanbul, Turkey, fell 5.9 percent in occupancy to 56.7 percent, reporting the largest decrease in that metric.
Copenhagen, Denmark, rose 19.6 percent in ADR to EUR113.44, achieving the largest increase in that metric, followed by Tallinn, Estonia (16.9 percent to EUR78.25).
Moscow, Russia (-11.4 percent to EUR133.55) posted the largest ADR decrease for the month.
Three markets experienced RevPAR growth of more than 20 percent: Vilnius (+33.9 percent to EUR28.47); Copenhagen (+31.9 percent to EUR68.12); and Tallinn (+21.9 percent to EUR46.24).
Istanbul fell 15.1 percent in RevPAR to EUR66.78, reporting the largest decrease in that metric.
The Middle East/Africa region reported positive performance results during December 2013 when reported in U.S. dollars. The region reported a 3.0-percent increase in occupancy to 59.5 percent, a 4.2-percent increase in average daily rate to US$180.65 and a 7.3-percent increase in revenue per available room to US$107.44.
“It has become increasingly difficult to talk about the Middle East as one region when reviewing the performance of the hotel industry”, said Philip Wooller, area director of Middle East and Africa for STR Global.
He said most of the Levant region, which includes Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Israel and Palestine, remains volatile and the hospitality industry continues to struggle.
“Egypt has made progress in bringing some degree of stability, but it still has some major challenges although there has been some signs of improvement in the traditional tourist areas of the Red Sea Resorts”, Wooller said.
The “Jewel in the Crown” is the United Arab Emirates, which was recently included in the top 10 fastest growing hotspots worldwide in 2013. In November 2013, the Expo 2020 was awarded to Dubai, which will take place in 2020. Dubai plans to double its visitor numbers form 10 million to 20 million in seven years.
“It will be a fascinating journey for Dubai; announcements will soon be released for all the new projects in the run up to the event”, Wooller said. “The numbers alone suggest the hotel supply will need to nearly double from the existing 68,000 rooms to 120,000 rooms”.
Highlights among the Middle East/Africa region’s key markets for December 2013 include (year-over-year comparisons, all currency in U.S. dollars):
Sandton and Surroundings, South Africa, reported the largest occupancy increase, rising 19.0 percent to 51.6 percent. Amman, Jordan, followed with a 15.6-percent increase to 56.9 percent.
Cairo, Egypt, fell 15.6 percent in occupancy to 35.1 percent, posting the largest decrease in that metric.
Sandton rose 10.6 percent in ADR to US$124.71, reporting the largest increase in that metric.
Doha, Qatar (-22.9 percent to US$182.65), ended the month with the largest ADR decrease.
Three markets achieved RevPAR increases of more than 10 percent: Sandton (+31.7 percent to US$64.35); Amman (+19.2 percent to US$89.17); and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (+11.5 percent to US$162.72).
Doha fell 16.9 percent in RevPAR to US$119.47, posting the largest decrease in that metric.
Final numbers are now in for the Americas, reflecting total year end. The Americas region recorded positive results in the three key performance metrics when reported in U.S. dollars during December 2013.
Compared to December 2012, the Americas region reported a 2.8-percent increase in occupancy to 50.5 percent, a 3.6-percent increase in average daily rate to US$112.38 and a 6.5-percent increase in revenue per available room to US$56.80.
“The slight declines of the three major indicators throughout Central and South America were in part led by the negative effect currency exchange rates had for hotels in Brazil and Argentina”, said Patricia Boo, senior business development manager at STR Global.
“On the other hand, Panama’s new supply continues to grow at a higher pace than the demand is growing with more than 1,800 new rooms in 2013 and 3,500 more in our active pipeline”, Boo said. “The biggest pipeline we see is in Brazil with more than 30,000 rooms, of which more than 70% are in the Economy, Midscale and Upper Midscale segments”.
Among the key markets in the region, Toronto, Canada (+15.2 percent to 58.3 percent), and Chicago, Illinois (+10.7 percent to 53.7 percent), reported the only double-digit occupancy increases for the month. Panama City, Panama, posted the largest occupancy decrease, falling 7.1 percent to 46.9 percent.
Chicago (+11.5 percent to US$116.37) led ADR growth with the only double-digit increase in that metric. Panama City, Panama, fell 8.9 percent in ADR to US$102.05, reporting the largest decrease in that metric.
Chicago (+23.5 percent to US$62.48) and San Francisco, California (+13.7 percent to US$115.86), led RevPAR growth in the region. Panama City (-15.3 percent to US$47.91) posted the largest RevPAR decrease.
