LONDON- The Arthur Andersen Hotel Industry Benchmark Survey shows that for the year-to-September, buoyant trading conditions prevailed across the whole of Europe. Hotels across Europe reported occupancy of 70%, a rise of 3% over the same period last year. Average room rates rose 12% to reach Euro 115, resulting in an overall improvement in rooms yield of 15%. A significant reason for this impressive performance has been the relative strength of the dollar to the Euro, making travel for the US market more affordable. This is illustrated by the fact that European rooms yield performance when measured in US dollars has remained static. Overall there was positive improvement in performance; however, marked differences in the performance of various markets were visible, depending on their stage in the business cycle. The UK market mirrored the rooms yield growth across the whole of Europe, demonstrating growth of 14%. However, as occupancy levels remained static at 73%, growth was entirely driven by increases in average room rate. The German market marginally under-performed the European average, reporting a 13% rise in rooms yield. The top five performing cities in terms of rooms yield growth were Hanover, Istanbul, Prague, Amsterdam and Gatwick. (11/9/00)
