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[arm_restrict_content plan=”1,” type=”show”] Already shaken by the Yellow Vest movement and strikes over pension reform, the hotel industry is now, once again, being hit by the global coronavirus pandemic. While it was not directly affected by the closure measures announced by the government on Saturday, 14 March, 2020, the number of closed hotels has continued to rise to over 1,800 yesterday, Sunday, 22 March.

The French hotel industry, caught in a vice, is being hit

When asked whether hotels were affected by the closure measures announced on 14 March, the Union des Métiers et des Industries de l’Hôtellerie, confused the next day, replied: “Hotel activity does not fall within the scope of this restriction. Hotel rooms are private places that will not be closed unless the government indicates otherwise.”

But the official announcements of border closures and then population confinement put the hotel industry face to face with an obvious reality: hotel establishments, desperately short of customers and emptied of their occupants, have no other choice than to suddenly close their doors. A case in point is the city of Lyon (Rhône), where only 29 hotels out of 200 were still open two days after the government’s announcement, that is 15% of hotels still open – most of them are being managed by independents, living on site.

Didier Chenet, president of the national grouping of independent hotel and restaurant owners (GNI) then critized the government’s lack of anticipation and denounced a lack of information for hoteliers: “It’s a total surprise […] why didn’t you tell us this 48 hours ago? That would have allowed us to warn our employees and customers and to be careful with our stock supplies“, he protested at the microphone of Europe 1.

Hotel activity, already reduced, is now in free fall. The GNC, the National Grouping of Hotel Chains, announced on Monday 16 March the imminent closure of 400 hotels, on Wednesday 18 March of 1,300 hotels and this weekend of 1,800 hotels (i.e more than 100,000 rooms), representing half of the French hotel properties and affecting more than 18,000 employees on the national territory.

Hotels requisitioned throughout the period of confinement

But in the context of an unprecedented health crisis, hotels have not been completely abandoned. Called to the front line in the “war” against the Covid-19, they were mobilised to serve as relay or emergency accommodation.

Hundreds of hotel rooms, mainly of economic categories, were quickly diverted into containment rooms for sick people or to accommodation solutions for healthcare personnel, truck drivers and homeless people. The latter are the subject of particularly large hotel requisitions, orchestrated by the Minister of Housing Julien Denormandie himself: “The government is in contact with associations, to shelter homeless people in specific conditions, […] sites with individual rooms are preferred as much as possible. An envelope of 50 million euros has been opened for accommodation. Solidarity must not be a victim of Covid-19“, he announced on 19 March on France Inter.

Jean-Virgile Crance, President of the National Grouping of Chains, also confirmed in a press release on Saturday, March 21 the commitment of hotel networks in the fight against the virus: “The mobilization of hoteliers is total to get through this very difficult context, while also complying with health rules for our employees and the people hosted. […] We all want to defeat this health war, but also social and economic, responsibility and solidarity are necessary for our country and we remain confident in the future.”

In total, more than 500 establishments were mobilized on Saturday, March 21, at the request of the public authorities, i.e. more than 20,000 rooms throughout France.

Colossal losses, high-end hotels among the hardest hit

The development of the coronavirus in the world caused the collapse of activity in the French hotel industry.

The Accor group, which has 1,500 hotels in France, has closed a very large number of them “without being able to give a precise figure. It’s changing every day,” said the group’s communication. “Over the last two months, the activity is in sharp decline with an impact of Covid-19 of about 20 million euros on the group’s gross operating surplus,” the group already noted in a press release of March 11.

And the upscale / luxury hotel branch is far from having been spared. The Barrière Group closed all of its hotels and casinos on Monday, March 16. The same scenario for the Paris Inn group, which has closed its 27 4- and 5-star hotels in France, as well as for the luxury hotel brand InterContinental, whose Managing Director Christophe Laure announced the closure of the establishments for a minimum of one month: “Considering the situation and the very low occupancy, most of the hotels have decided to close. With 1 to 20 rooms occupied per night, it is financially difficult to keep them open for a long time. »

High-end establishments have been hit hard by the absence of tourists (particularly Chinese, who are the main customers of luxury hotels), and deplore the 52% drop in revenue per available room over the first 16 days of March.

The Union des métiers et des industries de l’hôtellerie expects long and difficult months ahead: “The treasuries are already drained. Unlike other industries, in tourism, an unsold room in a hotel or on a plane will never be sold again. And it will take many months after the crisis before people travel again without fear“, projects Laurent Duc, president of the UMIH. Yet tourism represents 8% of the French trade balance …

A financial impact that could cost the French hotel industry and France as a whole several billion euros.

Read also> France: the luxury hotel sector fears colossal losses

Featured photo: © 2020 IHG

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Already shaken by the Yellow Vest movement and strikes over pension reform, the hotel industry is now, once again, being hit by the global coronavirus pandemic. While it was not directly affected by the closure measures announced by the government on Saturday, 14 March, 2020, the number of closed hotels has continued to rise to over 1,800 yesterday, Sunday, 22 March.

The French hotel industry, caught in a vice, is being hit

When asked whether hotels were affected by the closure measures announced on 14 March, the Union des Métiers et des Industries de l’Hôtellerie, confused the next day, replied: “Hotel activity does not fall within the scope of this restriction. Hotel rooms are private places that will not be closed unless the government indicates otherwise.”

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Featured photo: © 2020 IHG

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