Report 07/07/2020

Milan: new positive signals for the Autumn.

In Milan, strategies adopted for the summer season by hotels are stabilizing. The share of hotels that have decided to work in July and August stays around 60%, as the Hotel Activity Indexes (HAI) at 1, 14, 28 days show. The percentage of hotels already open increases (AB1_day), while hotels offering rooms between mid-July and early August continue to decline (AB14_days and AB28_days). Many firms will reopen in September, after the August holiday break, as the medium-term HAI (AB56_day) registers a positive drift. The percentage of hotels offering rooms at the end of November is substantially stable, exceeding the share of 80% (AB140_days). Still, 20% of hotels will not reopen neither during the summer season nor in Autumn. On the one hand, this percentage might identify those hotels that have decided not to rely on OTAs anymore, but it might also signal difficulties to stay on the market, given the uncertain perspectives on tourist flows, the costs and conditions associated with the safety protocols to be adopted.

Venice: recovery is not for everybody.

In Venice, the share of hotels that have decided to reopen is consolidating. With the arrival of the high season, this share represents 65% of hotels (AB1_day), 70% (late july, AB14_days) and 75% (early August, AB28_days) and continues to grow. The share of hotels offering rooms at the beginning of September (75%, AB56_days) is sharply growing, while the percentage of hotels open in late November slightly decreases (70%, AB140_days). The convergence of these different indices in the 65%-75% range shows that more than a quarter of hotels have decided to stay closed during the summer season but are also uncertain about what to do in Autumn. The uncertainty linked to the future dynamics of the pandemic, with possible future virus outbreaks still dampens down the recovery of international tourist flows in the leisure segment, and this strongly affects the resurgence of the tourism sector in Venice.