Hotels in Brussels have seen a rise in both occupancy and average rates in the first quarter of 2019 with RevPAR (rooms revenue per available room) seeing an impressive year-on-year growth of nearly 10%, according to our latest report on the city.
Brussels hotels experienced a severe downturn during the 2009 economic crisis, and then suffered again following terrorist attacks in March 2016. However, 2018 saw a much-needed boost to the number of leisure visitors visiting the city, allowing occupancy to fully recover and even exceed 70% with trading this year looking equally positive, helped by recent marketing activity promoting the city as a city-break destination.
Brussels, often called the capital of Europe, is primarily a business-driven destination, with three- and four-star properties representing more than 50% of the total hotel stock. The citys hotels will benefit from its relatively small pipeline of new hotels, at just 1.5% of current supply, an additional 300 rooms, although several existing hotels are due to undergo significant refurbishments and rebrandings.
Key openings will be the Meininger Hotel Brussels Gare du Midi, with 170 rooms, due to open in Q3 2019, and the reopening of the 127-room Hotel Astoria, which has been vacant since 2006, and was acquired by Corinthia to be renovated into a luxury property.
Further activity includes the rebranding of the NH Brussels Bloom hotel and the refurbishment and rebranding of the Hilton Brussels City into an Indigo. The Crowne Plaza Le Palace is also undergoing a refurbishment and possible extension scheduled for completion in 2022.
Brussels recovery now looks complete, commented report co-author Lional Schauder, so the city can now capitalise on the return of leisure and MICE visitors in addition to its fairly resilient corporate demand.
The city has solid fundamentals and the improved performance of its hotels and the refurbishment and rebranding activity can only further advance its prospects in the eyes of investors, he added.
Download a copy of Market Pulse: Brussels Recovery Now Completed by Lionel Schauder and Sophie Perret.
