Knowing you might not have time to watch our full webinars, we are pleased to continue our series of COVID-19 webinar summaries. In this latest edition, we talk performance in Europe.
Occupancy falls back
Compared with other key regions around the globe, Europe’s occupancy was the lowest on a rolling 7-day average ending with 1 November (28.1%). During the same time, China posted the highest occupancy level (66.0%) followed closely by the Middle East (50.0%).
How will the second lockdown affect hotel closures?
Far fewer hotel closings are expected during Europe’s second lockdown. Looking at STR’s sample as of 5 November, Germany and the U.K. showed less than 10% of hotels closed from the first lockdown. Spain, on the other hand, showed around 40% of hotels still closed, having never reopened during the summer season.
Performance is not declining at the same pace everywhere
Although countries around Europe are starting to feel the impact of this second lockdown, some countries have not yet showed signs. On 1 November, Turkey posted the highest occupancy level in the region (44.6%) followed closely by the U.K. (41.9%) and Sweden (35.6%). Czech Republic and Poland, however, posted the lowest occupancy levels in the region at 4.7% and 13.3%, respectively.
What can we expect next?
Powered by Forward STAR data, the below image includes occupancy on the books for the next 12 months (as of 2 November) in Barcelona, Milan and Edinburgh, and further insights are provided in the full webinar recording. Occupancy-on-the-books intelligence will help us all understand recovery and provide much-needed context. Those insights can be accessed for free when you submit your data. If you are interested, please email sales@str.com.
Who emerged strongest from the last lockdown? Edinburgh case study.
Hotels in surrounding markets in Edinburgh saw less steep occupancy declines during the first lockdown and led the earliest stage of recovery in the market. On 4 October, the Edinburgh Surrounding submarket posted just a 9.0% decrease year over year, which was the best since lockdown measures were eased in Scotland on 29 May. For comparison, Edinburgh Center posted a 33.5% occupancy decline that same day.
For further insights into COVID-19’s impact on global hotel performance, visit our content hub.