A European Summer Without Americans Threatens Already Struggling Luxury Hotels
Photo Credit: The EU's travel ban on Americans is another hit to the struggling hotel industry, but some segments may manage to navigate the summer without much of an impact. Pixabay / Ptra
Skift Take
The EU's ban on American travelers is another revenue hit for European hoteliers, but also an opportunity to build up a domestic travel base.
The European Union’s temporary ban on American travelers due to the swelling coronavirus count in the U.S. will particularly hurt American-based chains and the upscale end of the European hotel industry.
Nearly 18 million Americans traveled to EU countries in 2018, the most recent complete year of data provided by the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office. More than a third of the annual volume went to Europe during the peak summer travel season. Americans traveling to Europe accounted for just over 20 percent of Marriott’s European room nights in 2019, a company spokesperson said to Skift.
A summer in Europe sans American tourists may not be a collective wipeout for hotel operators, but it will likely be further bad news for high-end properties already grappling with low occupancy from the pandemic.
“The American chains will take a hit, but other brands in the midscale or budget segments won’t be affected at all or only just a little,” said Nicolas Graf, associate
