London hotels lead as industry rallies
by Andrew Sangster
Economic recovery has helped boost the performance of upmarket hotels in cities around Europe, with London properties leading the way, according to this year's EuroCity Survey.
The study, published last week by consultancy Pannell Kerr Forster Associates (PKFA), looked at the trading performance during 1994 of mostly four- and five-star hotels in 26 cities. Across the sample, average bedroom occupancy rose 4.2 percentage points to 67.3% in 1994 compared with 1993.
London had the highest average occupancy figure at 79.6%, followed by Rome at 76.9% and Athens at 72.8%. Only four cities failed to improve occupancy levels year on year.
Despite this improvement in occupancy, hoteliers found it difficult to raise achieved room rates. Year on year, rates were down by 1.5% to DM206.13 (Deutschmarks were used for the purposes of the survey).
Paris was the most expensive city, with a room rate of DM374, followed by Geneva and then Moscow. The cheapest was Manchester at DM126.
In terms of revenue per available room, London enjoyed the biggest increase of the top 10 best performing cities, though Parisian hoteliers are still on top.
"The prospects for European hoteliers in 1995 are looking good," said PKFA managing director Frank Croston. "Although prices remain sensitive, hoteliers are anticipating an increase in average room rate following the rise in room occupancy last year."
EuroCity Survey 1995 costs £500 from PKFA. Telephone: 0171-831 7393.
