38
GERMANY
ISSUE
I
HOTEL PROPERTIES
F
or years now, the German hotel mar-
kets have been speeding from one re-
cord to the next. The relevant indica-
tors are many and varied. From the stream
of new highs in the field of overnight stays
– both nationwide and inmost of the larg-
er cities – to the steady growth in the sig-
nificance of city-break tourism, the trend
is upward. This is also reflected by perfor-
mance ratios in the hotel business, which
for some considerable time now have been
moving in just one direction: higher and
higher. In addition, the good results have
prompted the hotel sector to develop new
concepts and make the spectrum on offer
in many cities not only broader but also
more interesting and colourful. Investors,
too, have been discovering the attractive-
ness of hotels, no longer simply as high-
yield additions to their portfolios but as a
productive asset class in their own right.
In 2016, the development outlined here
was sustained and generated many new
records.
The number of overnight stays rose
yet again in 2016, setting a new all-time
record. According to the German Federal
Statistical Office, there were around 448
million overnight stays nationwide, which
corresponds to an increase of about 3%.
That was the eighth rise in succession.
And because even in the crisis year of
2009 there was only a marginal decline,
the trend has actually been upward for
11 years now. The proportion of foreign
visitors – which is currently around one
fifth of the total – has also been climbing
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modestly for some years. But German
guests, too, register growing numbers of
overnight stays in hotels, something trig-
gered among other things by a boom in
city tourism and brief breaks. So the signs
for the hotel business remain positive. It is
hardly surprising that this is also reflected
by performance figures.
OCCUPANY RATE HAS CLIMBED
Nationwide,
the occupancy rate has climbed to 70.6%,
representing another slight year-on-year
increase. During the past six years, the rise
has averaged nearly 2%. The trend in the
average daily room rate (ADR) has been
similar: in 2016, it actually increased by
almost 4% to 103 € – and since 2010 it
has achieved an annual rise of some 2%.
With just a few exceptions, the hotel
sector in all the major German cities has
been able to register improved perfor-
mance ratios. Especially notable is the
fact that even cities outside the absolutely
top destinations have in fact benefited to
a disproportionate extent. Examples in
this respect are Leipzig, Essen, Hannover,
Heidelberg andNuremberg.This develop-
ment also underlines the particular signi-
ficance of city-break tourism, which has
been boosted by new hotel offerings and
new concepts geared precisely to specific
target groups. The fact that the energy
and commitment of hotel operators even
outside the key metropolises pays off is
impressively documented by the way the
performance indicators have developed.
This is shown even more clearly by the
Hotel Markets Germany:
Success Story Continues
The eighth consecutive increase: The number of overnight stays rose in 2016, setting
a new all-time high. The occupancy rate increased to 70.6% across Germany. The hotel
sector has used the good conditions to invest. This is also necessary.
