France saw a strong October month, though remains just short of the levels recorded in October 2000 
The RevPAR gained 16.7% in October in all categories combined 

For Paris, the RevPAR increased by 33.7% in October
In the 4-star category, the indicator rose by 42.7%

1 - RevPAR increases from +11.1% to +16.7% in Southern Europe in October

Overall, October 2002 was not disappointing, however, for a variety of reasons, the Benelux and above all Germany, were unable to "get back on their feet" like the rest of Europe. Europe posts a RevPAR up by nearly 8%, which is better than the growth recorded in September (+5.6%). The global occupancy rate, up by 2.1 points, reaches 73.6%, for nearly 4 points less than in October 2000. The countries in the Southern Europe, with exception to Portugal, post the most significant increases: Italy sees its RevPAR grow by 14.6%, Spain by 11.1% and France by 16.7%. The United Kingdom and Austria also come out well and post a RevPAR up by 10.3% and +11.2% respectively. It must be said that in October 2001, Austria lost 21.6%. In the end, Germany and Portugal are the only two countries without growth in their RevPAR. For Germany, the score for the month of October (-7.5% for the RevPAR) is not very comforting. The German hotel industry is going through a truly difficult period. The economic situation is greatly responsible for this state of affairs. Further West, Belgium and The Netherlands post slight growth in their RevPAR because of slight drops in average daily rates.

2 - Such as in September, France is doing better than its Europeans neighbours

After posting a 13.5% increase in September, the RevPAR rose by 16.7% in October. The monthly increase is pulled along by the average daily rates that gained 11.3% while occupancy rate wins 3.4 points. In terms of occupancy, these enchanting results are just below those registered in October 2000, at which time the average occupancy rate of properties reached 75.7% versus 74.2% in October 2002. The results of the monthly activity are thus clearly up with respect to 2001 and in Paris in particular, where the RevPAR rose by 33.7%. It must be said that in October there were many salons and congresses in the capital, meaning a high level of business clientele. The RevPAR for 4* hotels rises by more than 40%. This is the only segment that is still far from the performance posted in October 2000. The occupancy rate was 83.3% in October 2000 and reached 72.3% this year, down by 11 points.

3 - Portugal and France regain their equilibrium over the last 12 months

Even if on 12 sliding months, the RevPAR is still down (-3.9%), the trend is improving with respect to last month. The average daily rate is stable (-0.2%) and the occupancy rate is down by 2.5 points, to 67.1%. The budget segments come out well with a RevPAR up on the last 12 months, while the mid-range segment increases its rates only slightly and posts an occupancy rate down by a further 3 points. Finally, the upmarket not only sees its occupancy rate drops by 3.8 points, but its average daily rate also drops by 1.7%. In the mid term, the policy in terms of average daily rates perfectly fits a geographic logic: countries in the North and East of Europe lowered their rates while the South, including France, maintains the growth of their average daily rates. In fact, Germany, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom post drops in average daily rates. The other European countries see this index progress. Belgium and the United Kingdom thus find themselves among the "bad students in the class", posting a RevPAR down by 6.2%.

As in 2001, across the whole of the year, countries in Southern Europe are the ones with the best performances: in Italy the RevPAR loses only 2.7%, in France the drop reaches 0.2% and Portugal posts a balanced ratio. Spain is experiencing a little more difficulty. Countries in the north and east of Europe, meanwhile, post drops in the RevPAR by more than 5% and they are very close from one country to the next. In most European countries including the Netherlands, this trend should not reverse itself by the end of the year.

Overall, the European hotel industry continues to do better each month, showing monthly results that are close to those before September 11th (particularly in France). Even though it is too early to speak of a return to the former trends, these monthly results allow the hotel industry to take back a part of its loss of earnings recorded since September 2001.

Methodology
This study is based on a sample of 5,000 corporate operated chains in Europe, representing 500,000 rooms. The data, gathered monthly from each hotel, is redressed according to the segmentation of the corporate operated hotel chain supply, and by the weight of each country in the European Union. 

These results come from figures supplied by the hotel chains located in France and throughout Europe, of which MKG Consulting is the official statistical supplier.

The complete dossier concerning the hotel activity in France and in Europe will be published in the November edition of HTR magazine. 

MKG Consulting has the largest hotel database in the world, outside the United States, with the best coverage of all the hotel segments.