While athletes from around the world will head to Paris later this month to seek gold at the Summer Olympics, that doesn’t mean tourists are following suit and heading to the City of Lights.
Various travel executives have noted in recent weeks that the Summer Olympics aren’t exactly a gold rush for financial performance at their respective companies. Delta Air Lines President Glenn Hauenstein said on the company’s earnings call earlier this month that the Paris Summer Olympics will take a $100 million hit to revenue as travelers stay away from France during the Games.
Additionally, hotel data suggests that some travelers bypass major events like the Olympics and wait to visit until things return to normal.
“With the Olympics, a lot of people don’t go to Paris because they’re afraid of the traffic and what’s coming with it,” Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin said at a conference earlier this summer. “So, it’s not going to be as extraordinary as we expect.”
From the opening ceremony on July 26 to the closing ceremony on August 11, hotel occupancy in Paris ranged from about 67% to about 85%, according to hotel data provider STR. These are strong numbers, but this is certainly not the case in the city of sold-out hotels.
However, don’t get too excited at the thought of last-minute hotel deals.
Most Marriott-affiliated hotels in the heart of Paris are sold out on opening night, but you can still snag a room that night at the Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel for 3,200 euros ($3,486). The Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel comes in at a more affordable 835 euros ($910), while the Residence Inn Paris Didot Montparnasse is a comparable deal at “only” 600 euros ($654) a night.
Hyatt’s best deals in Paris for the opening night of the Olympics are thanks to its newly integrated Mr. & Mrs. Smith platform, including the Hotel Monte Cristo Paris for 324 euros ($353) for the night of July 26. Maison Breguet, Mr. & Mrs. Smith Hotel, is charging 478 euros ($521).
If travelers can manage to find tickets for the closing ceremony night on August 11, there are even better rates.
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Marriott’s Moxy Paris Bastille has rooms starting at 370 euros ($403) per night. For those looking for the best award night availability, that gold medal goes to the Courtyard Paris Gare de Lyon, with a room for 59,000 Marriott Bonvoy points — or 414 euros ($451) — for the night of Aug. 11.
Don’t forget the hometown hero, Paris-based Accor either. The company’s new MGallery property, Domaine Raine Margot Paris IssyRooms start at 415 euros ($452) for the night of the closing ceremony.
Why do people stay away?
Experts say it’s no anomaly that tourists sweep Paris during the Summer Olympics. It is common for travel demand to drop during a major event, before returning – or even accelerating – following the conclusion.
“There is probably some displacement in the demand of the corporate transient and the corporate group who wanted to meet there and who were saying, ‘Let’s wait until this is all over, and let’s meet in Madrid, or let’s wait and meet in Paris in September,'” STR’s said Jan Freitag, National Director of Hospitality Analytics at parent company, Costar.
Additionally, Freitag added that tourists not planning to attend the Olympics are likely to stay away until major attractions are less affected by the Games. But the upside is likely for Paris.
Delta Air Lines’ executive team noted on its earnings call that transatlantic demand was strong in the fall following the Olympics. This is how the organizers behind the previous Summer Olympics in London and Barcelona called the games Promotes long-term benefits For locals and tourists in their respective cities.
“Paris will benefit, and it will become extraordinarily beautiful,” Accor’s Bazin said earlier this summer.
Slow and steady wins the race, it seems — at least for the Olympics host city waiting to see the tourism benefits of the games surviving.
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