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Manchester, United Kingdom — 22-25 September 2009

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STR Amsterdam hostel snapshot

Dec 14, 2018

WYSE teams up with STR to provide members with insights into city performance data on hostel occupancy and bed rates.

In this monthly report STR’s data on Amsterdam hostels shows how city regulatory planning is having an effect on bed occupancy in the Dutch capital.

Amsterdam hostel performance buoyed by demand

By Patrick Mayock

AMSTERDAM—All cylinders are firing in Amsterdam where regulatory constraints on new development seem to be benefiting existing operators.

Hostels reported bed occupancy of 87.5% during the month of October. Such high levels of demand have supported steady growth in average daily bed rate; ADR increased 4.2% to €40.37 through the first 10 months of the year.

Revenue per available bed, meanwhile, increased 5.0% to €34.35 during the same period.

 

Such growth has become commonplace in the Netherlands capital, where a huge influx of travel has prompted myriad measures to combat the overwhelming surge of tourists. One such policy enacted in January 2017 was aimed directly at the accommodations sector: The city banned new hotel and hostel development in most of the city, with limited areas outside of the city center allowing new development on a case-by-case basis.

The overnight accommodations policy is just one part of Amsterdam’s “City in Balance,” a program designed to “ensure responsible urban development” and keep Amsterdam livable for residents. Other notable portions of the policy include increasing tourist taxes and limiting vacation rentals.

Most recently, the city removed its iconic “I Amsterdam” letters, in front of the Rijksmuseum since 2006, in a move designed to curtail tourist photo opps.

While some of Amsterdam’s new policies may work in favor of hostels—banning new hostel development may increase pricing power and decrease competition—others, such as the rising tourist taxes, may dissuade some price-sensitive travelers from visiting.

Hosteliers have largely been immune to this pricing pinch. ADR has increased on a year-over-year basis for eight out of 10 months in 2018. The market’s aforementioned ADR surge of 4.2% is surpassed only by its 12-month-moving-average gain of 4.9%.

That said, Amsterdam has reported ADR decreases in both September and October—the first decreases in more than a year.

Still, the mix of healthy occupancy and rates for the majority of the year have created an enviable RevPAB environment. While Amsterdam posted gains of 5.9% on a running-12-month basis, London saw its RevPAB decrease by 5.4%, while Edinburgh’s dropped 1.1% in local currency.

Interested in more?

STR reports on hostel performance in London, Amsterdam and Edinburgh, and is actively pursuing other markets. Reports are free to data providers. Interested in more information? Please contact Patrick Mayock at pmayock@str.com.

About STR

STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 15 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England. For more information, please visit str.com.