European Accommodation Industry Bounces Back to Pre-pandemic Levels, Survey Shows
In 2023, the European accommodation sub-sector has achieved a complete recovery, returning to the pre-COVID-19 levels, the Fall 2023 European Accommodation Barometer revealed.
The Barometer is the third survey conducted by Statista in partnership with Booking.com, involving European hoteliers.
After a very successful summer season, local hoteliers could rejoice over marked improvements in all key performance metrics, and the future looks bright again.
Statista
According to the survey results, during the summer of this year, hoteliers celebrated a continued improvement over the last six months, outperforming their previous results.
Notably, this survey’s findings indicate a significant shift, with the majority of respondents expressing optimism about their economic prospects for the next six months, marking a first in the Barometer’s history.
When questioned about their business performance during the last six months, most accommodation providers reported positive ratings, with 72 percent describing it as (very) good. This mirrors the ongoing sturdy recovery of the accommodation sector, driven by a prosperous summer season.
In addition to the positive outlook on recent developments, the report shows that there has been a noticeable upward trend in the percentage of respondents offering a positive evaluation of the present economic conditions.
68 percent of those surveyed now rate the current state of their business as good or very good, surpassing the figures from summer (61 percent) and from the previous year (57 percent).
The survey also revealed that businesses with 250 or more employees were significantly more likely than their smaller counterparts to express a positive or very positive outcome.
Furthermore, a significant boost in sentiment becomes evident when considering the hoteliers’ future expectations.
59 percent of European accommodation providers expressed positive expectations, marking an increase of 11 percent compared to the summer and a substantial 21 percent compared to the first Barometer survey.
The optimistic sentiment aligns with the number of room nights occupied in 2023. Across the European Union, the first half of 2023 saw a surpassing number of room nights compared to the 2019 levels.
At the national level, with the exception of the Netherlands, Germany and Greece, over 75 percent of respondents from all European countries reported that their business performance in the past six months was good or very good. Notably, most countries have demonstrated an improvement in this aspect compared to the previous survey wave.
Moreover, the survey indicated that progress has been observed in all major performance indicators compared to the previous year, including occupancy rates and average room rates (ADR).
On a European scale, 62 percent of hoteliers noted significant ADR boosts, marking an increase of more than ten percent compared to the summer and to the 2022 survey.
Throughout this year, European occupancy rates outperformed the global average in the majority of months, underscoring Europe’s status as the premier international tourist destination.