London, UK – The World Hotel Index by SiteMinder, the world’s largest open hotel commerce platform, is showing a positive shift in France’s accommodation industry, with bookings to local hotels growing by 81 percent month-on-month to 47 percent of 2019 levels as the country braces for its re-emergence from COVID-19.
With June 9 set as a key date for international tourism to resume, a growing number of bookings are now also being generated from outside the country, helping to further drive momentum. Almost 37 percent of booked check-ins for the summer months are currently from foreign guests, approaching the makeup of international bookings (53 percent) seen in June of 2019.
The substantial divide between major cities and more regional and coastal locations—a key trend throughout the pandemic globally—also remains evident in France. The booking momentum for Parisian hotels currently sits at 27.73 percent of 2019 levels – 19 percent below the country average. Additionally, bookings by travellers continue to be made just prior to arrival, with French hotels leading Europe for the percentage of last-minute stays they’re accepting. 73 percent of bookings made at French hotels in the last two weeks were either for June or July, and less than 10 percent of reservations made in the last two weeks were for beyond August.
Antoine Aubrun, Country Manager for France at SiteMinder, says “It is pleasing to see a strong amount of booking activity for our local hotels now returning.
“After the significant challenges felt by local hotel operators across the last 14 months, I’m hopeful that they will be able to stay open long-term and continue to go from strength to strength through summer and beyond.”
He adds, “While we must remain cautious, I’m positive that we’ll soon be able to share this magical country with foreign guests once more.”
While hotel booking volumes across France have spiked considerably, and now exceed the relative volumes of hotels in Austria, Germany, Italy and Sweden, there remains room for further growth. Bookings to hotels in Portugal currently sit at over 90 percent of their 2019 levels, while Spain’s momentum is at 86 percent and bookings to UK hotels are at 72 percent of 2019 volumes. The global average for bookings is currently at approximately 62 percent, some 16 percent above current French volumes.
For more information, and to stay up to date with the latest French booking trends, visit the SiteMinder World Hotel Index.
Media contact
Maria Cricchiola
+61 2 8031 1287
media@siteminder.com
About SiteMinder
In an age of rising choice and accessibility for curious travellers, SiteMinder exists to liberate hoteliers with technology that makes a world of difference. SiteMinder is the world’s largest open hotel commerce platform, ranked among technology pioneers for its smart and simple solutions that put hotels everywhere their guests are, at every stage of their journey. It’s this central role that has earned SiteMinder the trust of more than 35,000 hotels, across 160 countries, to generate in excess of 100 million reservations worth over US$35 billion in revenue for hotels each year.