Between the upsurge in the Delta variant, the generalization of the health pass, the difficulty of foreign tourists in traveling and the boom in last-minute bookings, the month of August promises to be very uncertain for independent Parisian hotels, weakened by a year and a half of the health crisis. .
Read also: Tourism in Paris still struggling
With the reopening of bars and restaurants and the resumption of cultural activities, “
since mid-June, we had found a somewhat international, European and even American clientele, whom we had not seen for a year and a half ... but for a few days the momentum has broken down, reservations have fallen completely
”, told AFP the boss of a small charming hotel in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, who does not wish to be identified.
"
A large part of the team is still on short-time work, half of the hotel remains closed, that's not good at all,
" he continues.
"
The countries of origin of our customers are experiencing significant increases in Covid-19 contamination, travel restrictions, quarantines on return: all this does not inspire confidence
", and the hotel only makes 30% of its normal summer turnover.
If his establishment will remain open, competitors in the neighborhood, “
have closed for 10 or 15 days, and will not reopen before the beginning of September.
Others have never reopened,
”observes the hotelier.
Last minute bookings and a lack of visibility
Reservations that can be canceled free of charge until the day before, which hoteliers have been forced to concede since the start of the health crisis, further increase uncertainty. “
Given the current circumstances, people are even more waiting until the last moment to book. We do not yet have visibility on August: 70% of reservations are made 7 days before departure,
”Ana Domenech, France director of Lastminute, told AFP.
On this travel reservation site, dedicated to French customers, reservations in the capital from May to mid-July are still down 45% compared to 2019, she says.
According to a survey carried out by the employers' union GNI Île-de-France, among its members, seven independent hotels out of ten in the capital could close their doors in August, for lack of customers figures that do not concern establishments of the large hotel groups.
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The situation will be “
very contrasted
”, predicts Vanguélis Panayotis, president of the specialist firm MKG Consulting, between “
well-located, clearly visible, well-distributed hotels, with loyal international customers, which will work better, and those far from tourist areas which will suffer a lot more,
”he said.
According to the GNI, state aid "
is not calibrated
" for the hotel industry: 25% of GNI members have already consumed their loan guaranteed by the state and risk defaulting in the fall. After having experienced a "
record collapse
" in their turnover since the start of the crisis, Parisian hotels have often seen the payment of their rent swallow up part of their cash or of the loan guaranteed by the State (PGE), according to a recent study by In Extenso in collaboration with Bpifrance.
But in “
the majority of cases, operating losses were limited and net cash flow preserved
” thanks to State aid partial activity, solidarity fund, Guaranteed Loan and loan deferrals granted by banks, according to the study.
September will sound "
The hour of truth
"
However, the hour of truth will be the month of September, with the programmed stoppage of aid which worries professionals: will the activity be there?
"
We will have a resumption of events, trade shows, even if the attendance will not be that of before-Covid: it will be a real test of the economic recovery, which brings life in particular to the economy hotel
", summarizes Vanguélis Panayotis.
Read also: 70% of independent Parisian hotels could close in August
But "
there will be blood on the walls
", predicts an independent hotelier near Montmartre, not wishing to be named, which will close in August to "
serve staff leave
".
"
Hoteliers who are not always very smart, wage a price war: even if we get a few people, we will not make a figure,
" he laments.