The easing up of the drop that could be observed in August and September was only brief: the curve turned significantly downward again last October with a drop in the RevPAR by 12.4%. This was not only the biggest drop since the beginning of the year, it was also an historic record that even surpassed the crises at the beginning of this millennium. And while the great
cities and categories affected by the economic situation had already occasionally experienced double-digit drops, in recent years the entire French hotel industry had never experienced such a slump. The upand midscale segments felt pressure from Business clientele who are making hotels suffer their absence. The 3* category experiences two-fold competition from the economy hotel segment and upscale properties. It loses nearly 7% on its rates on average while upscale hotels lose 12.5%. The 2* category fortunately succeeds in keeping its daily rates afloat because as far as occupancy is concerned results have been disappointing: down 6.4 pts.
