Europe’s hotel industry reported mixed results in the three key performance metrics during September, according to the latest data from STR.
Between Sept. 2017 and Sept. 2018, occupancy across Europe's hotels dropped 0.7 percent to 80.7 percent, while ADR increased 3.6 percent to €123.09. RevPAR, meanwhile, increased 2.8 percent to €99.38.
Gains for Sofia, Record Performance for Budapest
Two cities outside of the Eurozone saw notable improvements across several metrics. In Sofia, Bulgaria, ADR improved 20.5 percent to BGN167.29, the highest for a September since 2008, while RevPAR increased 27.9 percent to BGN125.98. Occupancy jumped 6.2 percent to 75.3 percent, the highest for any month in Sofia since October 2016.
In Budapest, Hungary, the absolute ADR and RevPAR levels were the highest for any September in STR’s Budapest database. ADR improved 14.8 percent to HUF33,065.71, while RevPAR grew 15 percent to HUF29,938.14. STR analysts attribute the strong performance to an increase in inbound tourism and a continued lack of supply growth in the market. It is worth noting that the city's occupancy only grew 0.1 percent to 90.5 percent.
Last month, a report from HVS indicated total visitation to Budapest has shown signs of continuous recovery since 2009. In the past three years alone, Budapest has seen a significant 12 percent growth in visitation, surpassing pre-economic-crisis levels. Hungary as a nation has seen continued growth in hotel supply since 2010, and as of December 2017, the country had 1,094 hotels with an estimated 151,000 beds, approximately 35 percent of which are in Budapest.