World Cup: Moscow’s Hotels to Keep Steady Occupancy Rates

World Cup: Moscow’s Hotels to Keep Steady Occupancy Rates

Moscow’s hotel industry is projected to see growth in the range of 20 percent and 30 percent in revenue per available room (RevPAR) during June and July 2018, according to the latest market forecast from STR and Tourism Economics.

A RevPAR increase in that range would be less than the growth realized in Rio de Janeiro (2014) and Johannesburg (2010), key markets for the previous two FIFA World Cup host countries.

While occupancy is likely to grow between 8 percent and 10 percent to absolute levels just under 80 percent during the World Cup months, Moscow’s average daily rate is projected to increase between 15 percent and 20 percent. That trend would be consistent with previous World Cup tournaments as STR analysts note that room rates are more significantly boosted by the event whereas demand remains fairly stable in year-over-year comparisons.

STR analysts note that while demand is helped by such a large event, year-over-year occupancy comparisons are typically hurt due to supply growth as well as other regular hotel business avoiding the market during major event months. Supply growth leading up to such “mega events” creates more room inventory and pressure on occupancy levels.

In Rio de Janeiro in 2014, occupancy rose by double-digits from the previous June (+12.6 percent to 81.6 percent) and July (+18.3 percent to 80.0 percent) in the market. At the same time, ADR increased 72.8 percent and 64.4 percent during the two months, respectively, driving RevPAR increases of 94.5 percent.

In Johannesburg in 2010, occupancy jumped from the previous June (+27.7 percent to 78.5 percent) and grew to a lesser degree in July (+7.4 percent to 63.7 percent). ADR increased 56.3 percent and 44.5 percent during the two months, respectively, driving RevPAR increases of 99.6 percent and 55.1 percent.

Moscow’s room count is substantially higher than Rio and Johannesburg. That also creates less opportunity for substantial uplift in performance in percentage terms from a comparable number of additional visitors travelling for the tournament.

Through the first four months of 2018, Moscow saw occupancy grow 6.7 percent year over year to an absolute level of 65.8 percent. Using the same four-month year-over-year comparison, ADR was down 0.8 percent to RUB5,363.70. Preliminary data for May showed occupancy 74.8 percent (+11.5 percent) and ADR RUB5,451.5 (+3.1 percent).

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