FRANCE After two encouraging months of improved activity, March was rather inconsistent for the majority of France’s hotels, as the staggering of the school holiday periods in regional France seems to have strongly impact hotel performance.
This downward trend should be put in perspective, however, since Paris, Côte d’Azur and several regional towns escaped the gloom. Avignon and Strasburg, for instance, posted double digit growth in some segments. In spite of the downturn in March, year-to-date first trimester results are up on last year in most France destinations.
All hotel categories in Paris posted improvements in March, with upscale and midscale hotels doing best—up 10% in RevPAR in some instances, according to Deloitte data.
Although Ile-de-France’s hotels generally recorded improved business in March, several departments did experience declines, including Seine-Saint-Denis and Val d’Oise, which saw significant drops in occupancy after a promising start to the year. A similar pattern followed elsewhere in the country, where slower demand diminished performance overall during March. Conversely, ADR grew in all segments and in most large cities, although not enough to offset the lost occupancy. Côte d’Azur continues to post strong results, particularly in the 4- and 5-star segments. Monaco leads the way, posting 24.1% RevPAR growth in March.