September is typically a strong month of headline performance levels for hotels across the primary European hotel markets and 2012 was no exception with eight of the ten markets polled this month recording room occupancy levels in excess of 85%.

Volume levels were particularly strong this September for hotels in Amsterdam (88%), Berlin (88.1%), Dublin (93.7%), London (90.2%), Moscow (85.5%), Paris (88.3%), Vienna (88%) and Zurich (90.8%).

Aside from room occupancy, huge average rooms rates were achieved in a number of markets with both Amsterdam (€204.09) and Zurich (€203.65) exceeding the typically stalwart London (€197.30). But, once again, it was Paris which superseded the performance of all its peers with an achieved average room rate of €242.18, approximately 17 per cent above the 12-month rolling average for the French capital, as the city benefited from strong demand from both the corporate, conference and leisure sectors.

However, a strong ancillary spend in Zurich, which included food (€73.42), beverage (€13.91) and meeting room hire (€18.71) revenue per available room, in addition to a premium rooms revenue per available room (€184.85), enabled
Switzerland's largest city to achieve the highest TrevPAR (Total Revenue per Available Room) of all the cities polled, at €302.98, approximately 25% above the 12-month rolling total.

"September performance typically gives hoteliers across Europe a good opportunity to blow out the cobwebs of a long summer and hotels in London did not show any signs of an Olympic hangover. London hotels achieved a profit conversion of 52% of total revenue, which was the highest in Europe," said Jonathan Langston, managing director at TRI Hospitality Consulting.

Whilst a number of the top performers in September suffered a decline in profit per room, including Amsterdam (-12.5%), Milan (-1.6%) and Moscow (-1.1%), the GOPPAR (Gross Operating Profit per Available Room) levels achieved in these markets were an average of 80% higher than the year-to-date average for the individual cities.

In Milan, strong demand levels from the annual Fashion Week were supplemented this September by demand created
by the Italian Formula One Grand Prix and events at the Milano Congressi, which included the Euretina and ESCRS medical conferences. As a result, profit levels were approximately 150% above the rolling 12-month average for the city.

The greatest margin of year-on-year profit growth in the European hotel markets polled this month was in those markets which have seen a resurgence in demand related to meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions, according to the latest HotStats survey.

Vienna achieved the greatest margin of year-on-year growth with a paltry 2.4 percentage point increase in room occupancy supported by a 26.4% increase in achieved average room rate, which contributed to a yearon-year increase in RevPAR of approximately 30% to €163.48.

The Austrian capital has had a tough time in recent years in the fallout of the current economic downturn, but September's
busy month of events included conferences and exhibitions on lighting, maps and the economy, as well as the usual acronymous medical conferences (EPOS, EFORT, ESMO and ESCP) and a visit from the United Nations.

An increase in revenue across all departments contributed to a 43.1% year-on-year increase in profit per room for
hotels in Vienna during September, to €98.45 and equivalent to a profit conversion of 44% of total revenue.

In Berlin it was the IFA trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances as well as the International Symposium
on Medical Chemistry which enabled a 14.5% increase in RevPAR, which was driven by a 3.3 percentage point increase in room occupancy and a 10.3% increase in achieved average room rate to €154.96.

Conference cities are back in business as hotels profit from MICE infestation

High ancillary revenue spends contributed to a TrevPAR which was approximately 35% above the 12-month rolling average and enabled a profit per room of €92.92, equivalent to a profit conversion of 47% of total revenue, well above the year-todate average (36%).

Dublin was another star performer in September as the annual European Association for International Education  Conference made a stop in the city. As a result, hotels in Dublin achieved a staggering room occupancy of 93.7%, which was unsurprisingly the highest recorded of the European markets polled this month.

The six percentage point increase in room occupancy and 15% growth in achieved average room rate contributed to a 16.3% increase in TrevPAR to €223.73.

However, profit performance for hotels in the Irish capital was impacted by payroll levels, which remained high at 30.4% of total revenue. As a result, hotels in Dublin achieved a GOPPAR of €88.18, equivalent to 39% of total revenue.