Paris hoteliers are dropping their room rates like never before in an unprecedented move to attract business, according to wholesale hotel room buyer, JacTravel.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before in the French capital at this time of year. From a pricing point of view, it is an amazing time to visit Paris,” said Marietta Fox, regional head of contracting with JacTravel, which claims to handle over 500,000 bednights in the city.
According to JacTravel, hotel occupancy for the Euro 2016 Quarter Finals and Final is even running well below the 90 per cent levels that would be expected for this time of year. Nearly all the hotels have space and many are desperate for guests.
The main price drop is among four-star hotels, with room rates cut in half in some cases. Marietta explained: “In Paris at the moment, there is huge supply and little demand, so you can get more for your money. Initially the hotels had resisted lowering their prices to see if demand picked up. But after a quiet early and mid-May, room rates began to tumble. However, the budget hotels are the least affected and seem to be faring slightly better.”
A swath of events, terrorism, the worst flooding in over a century and ongoing strikes, all contributed to a poor start to the summer season.
On whether Paris could recover, Fox said: “If the rest of the tournament passes smoothly in terms and security and the strikes are not too disruptive then we expect to see some improvement but it might be as late as September or October when things noticeably improve.”
Apart from Paris, holidaymakers could also get “some excellent deals” in other major European cities such as Rome, Vienna and Madrid where hoteliers are also reducing room rates, added Juan Morterero, vice president purchasing & product at JacTravel.
But not in cities such as Barcelona, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Berlin, which are all experiencing high levels of bookings, said Morterero.
