Accor’s hotel revenues fell 10 per cent last year but a recovery is now underway, the group said today.
Releasing its full year results for 2009, Ibis owner Accor revealed hotel revenues had fallen 10.1 per cent like-for-like or 9.8 per cent on a reported basis during 2009.
The rate of decline would have been higher is not for a resilient performance from the group’s budget hotels in Europe, and improving trading conditions in the last few months of the year.
Accor took its biggest hit in the US economy sector, where revenue fell 13.8 per cent in the year, and unlike the remainder of its 4,100-strong hotel business no recovery is visible.
The group, which gave an update on the demerger of its hotel business, said with the exception of the US economy sector, occupancy rates had continued to stabilize during January 2010 in line with the December 2009 trend.
Outside of the US, Accor is focusing its expansion plans on the economy hotel sector with more than 80 per cent of the 27,300 rooms opened last year either economy or midscale.
Accor Group revenue for 2009 was down 8.5 per cent on a reported basis at €7.07bn (£6.19bn) with a loss of €282m (£247m) compared with profit of €575m a year ago, due in part to significant restructuring costs.