European Business Travellers Choose Upscale or Midscale Hotels

New research from Timetric suggests that despite the challenging economic times, European business travellers are choosing upscale or midscale hotels during business trips. Overall, 46% of the survey respondents indicated that they expect to visit midscale hotels over the next 12 months, while 31% will choose upscale hotels. Timetric reports that midscale hotels are experiencing sustained growth in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR). Some international hotel brands are overcoming severe challenges from local brands in the midscale sector. According to the survey, 35% of respondents spend up to 30% of their overall travel expenditure on hotel accommodation, while 21% spend up to 40%. The majority of business travellers tend to stay at hotels for two to three days. However, untapped markets such as Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries offer an opportunity for growth in this sector where travellers look for hotels that offer luxury facilities at affordable prices. A senior executive from Marriott International told Timetric: “We added over 27,000 rooms to our worldwide system in 2012, increased our worldwide system-wide RevPAR by 6%, and increased room rates by 4%.” European business travellers will also be spending more on transport, restaurants and leisure in the coming year. As a result, hotel operators are investing more in properties located near businesses, restaurants and shopping centres.

The Timetric report: ‘European Business Traveller Survey 2013’ was published in August 2013