Spain sits midway in the recovery of the major European markets behind the United Kingdom, Poland, France and Ireland, according to Thomas Emanuel, director at STR, CoStar Group's hospitality analytics firm.
In the first quarter, Spain’s occupancy was 68%, compared with 83% in the U.K., Emanuel said. Spain's hotel occupancy exceeded Germany’s 51%, but Germany only at the beginning of April lifted nearly all COVID-19 restrictions.
Emanuel said Spain’s average daily rate does not actually correlate with occupancy in the first quarter, with ADR exceeding pre-pandemic levels from the first quarter of 2019.
“ADR has been at or above the levels seen in 2019. Over recent weeks, we’ve seen that trend get even stronger," he said. "The standout exception is late February when the 2019 comparable was the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which understandably dwarfs performance in 2022."
Emanuel said ADR in the "vast majority" of markets are already exceeding 2019 levels. Two exceptions are Barcelona — at 90% of the market's 2019 ADR — and Bilbao, which had ADR at 92% of the 2019 level.
Occupancy Growing
Spain’s occupancy is getting stronger every week, Emanuel said, with the occupancy differential between 2022 and 2019 continuing to narrow.
Its weekend demand continues to be the strongest, especially on Saturday nights. That trend has replicated in many parts of Europe and is fueled by leisure travel.
In terms of Spanish market level, year-over-year occupancy numbers in March 2022 remain “relatively muted, especially in markets that are driven by corporate demand,” he said.
The Canary Islands, a popular vacation destination for northern Europeans, reported the highest occupancy at 66%, or about 82% of 2019 occupancy. Málaga's first quarter 2022 occupancy came in second at 63%.
In the Balearic Islands, another popular year-round destination, occupancy was 90% of 2019 levels.
Spain’s two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, showed occupancy of 51% and 48%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2022. When indexed to the same quarter in 2019, Madrid's occupancy was 71% and Barcelona's was 69%.
Emanuel said hotel business on the books in Spain is stronger in 2022 than it was for 2021, both for Madrid and, especially, Barcelona.
"Leisure markets are in for a strong summer, and the growth in corporate, [meetings, incentives, conventions and expositions] and international visitation will assist in the recovery of the urban centers,” he said.
For more hotel data insights from Emanuel and STR, please watch the video above.
Editor’s note: The video included in this article was filmed by Thomas Emanuel, director, STR, on April 28, 2022, and edited and produced by CoStar Group. HNN is a division of STR, a CoStar Group company.