The latest figures published by STR Global have shown that the European hotel industry posted growth during July when compared to the same month last year. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) and the average daily rate (ADR) increased across all the major markets - Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and the UK - surveyed, while occupancy levels were up everywhere except Russia.
Italy and Spain reported particularly strong RevPAR growth, rising year-on-year by 10.3 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, Russia saw the biggest hike in its ADR at 4.7 per cent, with Italy, Spain and the UK all seeing their figures jump by at least three per cent. Managing director of STR Global Elizabeth Randall commented: "European hotels continued to improve on last year with increased demand driving occupancy and ADR growth."
The largest increase in average occupancy rates was seen in Italy, which registered a 6.7 per cent rise. In particular, the research highlighted Venice and Florence, with both cities achieving double-digit growth in this area. However, Ms Randall cautioned that the hotel sector should prepare itself for a more difficult time ahead, noting that "slower gross domestic product growth rates in selected key European markets make the outlook for the region a bit more challenging than it was a few months ago".
Meanwhile, the US also posted positive figures among its hotel sector. According to the STR Global data for the Americas area, the nation saw rises in occupancy levels, ADR and RevPAR, with the latter experiencing annual growth of 6.9 per cent. Hotel occupancy was up by 2.9 per cent, with 69.9 per cent of available rooms booked during July this year. Miami in Florida was one of the top performing markets in this respect, recording an increase of 11.4 per cent in this metric.