Hotels in France are already more than 50% booked for the Olympic games

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Today, Amadeus has unveiled fresh insights that reveal exciting news for the hospitality sector in France.

Three months ahead of the world's largest sporting event, Amadeus' Demand360+® business intelligence data shows occupancy rates for French hotels over the Olympics, from July 26 to August 11, have spiked compared to the same time period in previous years. Hotel occupancy data also shows an increase in bookings around the Paralympic games, which will take place in Paris between August 28 and September 8.

The occupancy rate for French hotels recorded on April 1 this year showed that the weeks of July 21 to August 4 are nearly at or exceeding 50% booked1. This is an incredible growth compared to previous years. The week of July 21 for example, was 25% booked in April 2019, and 24% booked in 2023, whereas it is already 46% booked this year - that's an 87% growth in occupancy numbers compared to last year.

For the weeks of July 28 and August 4, the numbers are even more astounding. Those weeks were 20% and 18% booked in April 2023, respectively, but this year hotels are already 55% and 51% reserved for those weeks. That's an incredible 153% surge for the week of July 28, and 155% growth for the week of August 4, compared to last year.

This trend continues for the weeks before and after the Olympics as well. Overall summer hotel occupancy rates in France recorded as of April of this year are higher than pre-pandemic levels across the board.

High demand for Paris hotels, book early to avoid disappointment!

If you're planning to visit Paris this summer, make sure to book in advance, as occupancy rates are already more than half full for the weeks surrounding the Olympic games. Additionally, when looking at booking lead times in Paris, Amadeus data shows that 85% of bookings are being made within 0-90 days ahead of stay, and 43% of bookings are currently being made in Paris within 0-14 days ahead of stay. If these trends continue as we move closer to the event, bookings could rise even further.

There is a clear bump in occupancy rates between July 26 to August 11, for the Olympic games, and a slightly smaller bump between August 28 and September 8, which aligns with the Paralympic games.

More specifically, the occupancy rate for Parisian hotels for the week of July 21 was 130% higher as of April 1, 2024, compared to the same time last year. The occupancy rate for the week of July 28 is already at 74% capacity (a 215% growth compared to April 2023), and the week of August 4 is at 70% capacity (an astonishing 233% growth compared to April last year). Overall, the occupancy rate recorded in April for hotels in Paris is higher across the board each week from early July until mid- September.

Lille, Marseille and Lyon set to see far more visitors this year

While Paris is seeing the largest growth in hotel occupancy rates, other Olympic host cities are experiencing a similar boom of interest.

Lille

Hotel occupancy rates in Lille recorded in April 2024 for the week of July 28 (43%) are 271% higher than the occupancy rate recorded in April 2023 or April 2019. For the week of August 4, the hotel occupancy rate in Lille was recorded at 22% in April, a 131% growth compared to the level recorded the same time last year, when 10% of rooms were booked. The city of Lille will be hosting Olympic basketball and handball tournaments this summer.

Lyon

As of April 2024, hotels in Lyon were at least 48% booked for the weeks of July 14 all the way through to August 11. The week of August 11 tops the summer - hotels recorded an occupancy rate of 56% in April 2024 - that's a 108% increase in hotel occupancy compared to the same time last year, when it was at 27%. The city of Lyon will be hosting no less than 11 football matches throughout the Olympic games.

Marseille

Hotel occupancy in Marseille is also surging. Hotels in this city were already nearing 50% occupancy rates in April 2024 for the weeks of July 7 to August 4. The week of July 28 stands out - with a 55% occupancy rate, which is 187% higher than recorded the same time last year (19%). This city will be hosting Olympic football, sailing-and for the very first time-kiteboarding events this summer.

Group bookings make their mark

Group bookings are largely made up of business trips, so unsurprisingly, they typically make up for a small amount of hotel occupancy rates in the summer months. Only 3% of hotel bookings in France were groups in 2022, and 2023 was similar - 4% of bookings were groups.

However, with the various sports teams arriving into the country, as well as media organizations from all over the world, it's no surprise that group bookings account for 12% of the bookings, and 25% of hotel occupancy expected this summer.

The Average Daily Rate is on the rise

The Average Daily Rate (ADR) for a room in France is growing compared to previous years. In 2023, the ADR in July was USD513, this year it's USD621 - that's a 21% change, and nearly double what hotels were charging before the pandemic. The ADR in July 2019 was at USD326.

Global travelers will be making their way to France

With travelers from Europe and around the world flooding to France to watch the Olympic and Paralympic games, cities around the country are likely to continue seeing a boom in hotel bookings in the months to come.

Flight searches to France continue to grow, especially to Paris with interest from travelers domestically and abroad. International searches to France have grown by 8%2 in comparison to the same period last year, while there is a 38.54% increase in domestic searches for flights to the French capital during the Olympic period (July 23 to August 13), compared to the same period last year. In addition, the Paralympics are also contributing a 10.6% increase in domestic flight searches between August 26 and September 8.

The data also reveals that travelers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain are most keen to travel to see the games in the host country.

Ranking of origin country based on search volumes:

Amadeus will continue releasing more travel data related to the Olympics in the months to come.

Origin of data:

These data are based on research by Amadeus data science teams. Flight search data has been drawn from a custom search dataset, Amadeus Master Pricer, and Amadeus Agency Insights, pulled as of April 9, 2024. Amadeus Search Travel Data is the most complete suite of air data in the travel industry and includes shopping transactions performed by +2,500 customers including the world's top travel agencies. It consists of consolidated data generated by daily transactions.

All Hospitality data has been drawn from Amadeus' Demand360+ business intelligence data, pulled on April 1,2024, which provides a comprehensive overview of market insights from more than 41,000 hotel properties globally.