Industry observers expect the Parisian hotel industry to bounce back following terrorist attacks on 13 November at six locations in the city, which so far have resulted in 129 deaths, according to reports published by hotelnewsnow.com
But sources said it might take longer after this incident than it did for previous ones.
Different incident
Gwenola Donet, director of the hotels and hospitality group, France, for business consultancy JLL, said this latest incident is “something different.”
Donet said she had been at a meeting on the morning of the attacks in Paris at an internationally branded hotel, and talk was about how quickly Paris had bounced back following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January and the Paris-bound train attack in August.
This time around, despite Parisian and European resolve, things might play out differently, she said.
“It is no longer the same. Previous attacks have to some extent been targeted attacks, not against Parisians and international travelers going out to listen to music and enjoy themselves. I have a pessimistic nature regarding what is a continued and permanent threat to Paris,” Donet said.
“After the 9/11 attack in New York City, then there was nothing,” she added.
Public unsettlement
Donet and others, however, do not consider this to be only a Parisian problem.
“Personally, I feel this is just an extension of the ability of a number of crazed individuals to unsettle the public at large. No one can imagine the depth of imagination that led to these attacks, ones that will turn the entire population against them,” said Russell Kett, chairman of business consultancy HVS London.
Kett also said he believes leisure and tourism will bounce back.
“In the short term, people will be scared, and this clearly is not the last we’ll hear from these people, but the beauty of the human race is that eventually it will get past this. People’s memories will take a little longer to heal, but they will not be kowtowed by this aggressive minority,” he added.
According to data from Hotel News Now’s sister company STR Global, Paris did bounce back from the last two atrocities.
Similar pattern
With the proviso that seasonality affects occupancy in different months of the year, occupancy in France’s capital in the months before and after the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks (December 2014 and February 2015), were 73.5% and 63.8%, respectively. The same months in 2013 and 2014 being 73.4% and 67.3%, respectively.
The same information for the Paris train attack in August showed a similar pattern. Occupancy in July 2015 and September 2015 was 86.8% and 87.4%, respectively. Occupancy in July 2014 and September 2014 was 84.9% and 89.4%, respectively.
Donet said that the 13 November attack coming before the Christmas period would see no bounce back for the industry until at least after the traditionally slow Paris months of January and February.
“Business will continue to come, but it will be very slow initially and within a permanent atmosphere of heightened security,” Donet said, who added that she believed the 30 November-11 December 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference will go ahead in Paris as planned.
“It will be a very brave person who says no to holding that event in Paris,” Kett added.
Everyone should get advice
Executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles co-authored a paper with the British Hospitality Association titled “Leading through uncertainty: A view from hospitality CEOs” earlier this year.
One of its findings was that “Leaders consistently raised geopolitical issues as areas of significant concern; these comments came from different segments of the hospitality sector, with repeated fears about possible terrorist attacks and their impact. Leaders from several international companies talked about potential threats in London and the fallout in other European markets.”
Heidrick & Struggles’ head of practice, U.K., travel, leisure and hospitality, Ben Twynam, told HNN that from a sector perspective the Paris attacks demonstrated that now more than ever humanity lives in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.
“Events in Paris may (have an) impact on the hospitality sector. You only have to look at the impact on consumer confidence in New York post the atrocities of 9/11, but I think it will be a short-term impact,” Twynam said.
“The sector has always been resilient, whether responding or adapting to recessions, natural disasters or horrendous acts of terrorism. Businesses in London—or other major U.K. cities—will have to adapt the way that they do things, but consumers are resilient and confidence will return,” Twynam added.
Suggestions and guidelines
Chris Banks, a spokesperson for the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, which represents hotel and independent hospitality providers, told HNN that London’s Metropolitan Police Service had been in touch with them about the heightened threat to London and the United Kingdom and released new advice and guidelines for its members and others.
Among those suggestions:
“An integrated approach to security is essential. This involves thinking about physical security, information security and personnel security (i.e. good recruitment and employment practices). There is little point investing in costly security measures if they can be easily undermined by a disaffected member of staff or by a lax recruitment process”; and
“Make sure that your staff understand and accept the need for security measures and that security is seen as part of everyone’s responsibility, not merely something for security experts or professionals. Make it easy for people to raise concerns or report observations.”
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