STR: Brussels hotels continue performance growth one year after attacks

The hotel industry in Brussels, Belgium, has posted five consecutive months of occupancy growth following a 12-month period of occupancy declines, according to data from STR. Notable performance recovery began in November 2016 with a 10.2% increase in occupancy compared with the same month the previous year. That comparable November in 2015 marked the beginning of the market’s struggles after the terrorist attacks in Paris and the resulting travel lockdown in Brussels. Occupancy for November 2015 dropped 19.5% compared with the same month in 2014 and was followed by a 26.7% drop that December.January and February 2016 showed signs that the market was regaining stability, with average-daily-rate (ADR) growth in both months, but the 22 March 2016 attacks at Brussels Airport and the Maalbeek metro station resulted in eight more months of double-digit occupancy declines. April and August 2016 saw the two most significant drops, at 30.8% and 31.1%, respectively. ADR was less affected, with a 0.8% decline in Q2 2016 and a 5.7% drop in Q3, as hotels responded to fallouts in demand.