The European hotel industry is in an interesting position now a couple months into 2023. Different from this time last year, performance has been trending in pre-pandemic territory  for some time with many markets even exceeding the top-line metrics from 2019 thanks to significant levels of leisure demand coupled with the return of corporate travel and events.

However, that recovery is coming face-to-face with inflation, rising interest rates and energy shortages. And while an expected recession is likely to be mild, the unfavorable economic conditions are expected to pressure the discretionary spending that has underpinned leisure travel since the first half of 2022.

When balancing all these variables, there is a clear need for data and analysis to identify and capitalise on shifting opportunities in the market. Our yearly partnership with the Independent Hotel Show is the perfect place to talk about that data and how the insights available to independent hoteliers are key in elevating strategic decisions. We are pleased to share a report, which provides a sampling of STR’s unrivalled benchmarking solution.

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Overall, 2022 was a year of rate-driven recovery for the Benelux region and the Germany West market with noticeable improvement commencing in April and peaking in the late-summer/early-fall period.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR), the gold standard metric for measuring performance across market segments, indexed at 115 for Benelux independent properties and 91 for the region’s branded hotels. For each, that top-line recovery received far more contribution from average daily rate (ADR), which aligned with global trends.

Germany West was further away with RevPAR indexes of 87 for brands and 85 for independents, but again, the recovery came much more from ADR.

Increasingly throughout the year, performance improved during weekdays, which points to continued recovery in Europe’s corporate sector. The more corporate-dependent markets also figure to be less at risk over the coming months, which should help offset the slowing in the leisure segment due to economic pressures.

View the full report