Paris Summer Olympics aren’t sparking a travel surge to France

While athletes from around the world will flock to Paris later this month to go for gold at the Summer Olympics, this doesn’t mean travelers are following suit and heading to the City of Light.

Various travel executives noted in recent weeks that the Summer Olympics aren’t exactly a gold rush for financial performance at their respective companies. Glen Hauenstein, president of Delta Air Lines, said on a company earnings call earlier this month that the Paris Summer Olympics will lead to a $100 million hit on revenue because travelers will steer clear of France during the Games.

Further, hotel data suggests certain travelers bypass major events like the Olympics and wait to visit until things go back 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 along with it,” Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin said at a conference earlier this summer. “So, it's not going to be as extraordinary as we would have expected.”

From the opening ceremony July 26 until the closing ceremony Aug. 11, forward-looking hotel occupancy in Paris ranges from nearly 67% to nearly 85%, according to hotel data provider STR. These are strong numbers, but this certainly isn’t a case of a city of sold-out hotels.

Don’t get too excited by the idea of last-minute hotel deals, however.

Most Marriott-affiliated hotels in the heart of Paris are sold out the night of the opening ceremony, but you can still snag a room at the Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel for 3,200 euros ($3,486) that night. 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 comparative bargain at “only” 600 euros ($654) for the night.

Hyatt’s best deals in Paris for the opening night of the Olympics come thanks to its newly integrated Mr & Mrs Smith platform, which includes the Hotel Monte Cristo Paris for 324 euros ($353) for the night of July 26. Maison Breguet, a Mr & Mrs Smith hotel, is charging 478 euros ($521).

If travelers can manage to find tickets for the night of the closing ceremony Aug. 11, there are better rates to be had.

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Marriott’s Moxy Paris Bastille has rooms starting at 370 euros ($403) for the night. For those looking for the best award night availability, that gold medal goes to the Courtyard Paris Gare de Lyon, which has rooms starting at 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 Reine Margot Paris Issy, has rooms starting at 415 euros ($452) for the night of the closing ceremony.

Why do people stay away?

Travelers steering clear of Paris during the Summer Olympics isn’t an anomaly, experts say. It’s common for travel demand to decline during a major event before returning — or even accelerating — following the conclusion.

“There's probably some displacement of corporate transient and corporate group demand of people who wanted to meet there and who are saying, ‘Let's just wait until this blows over, and let's meet in Madrid, or let's wait and meet in September in Paris,’” said Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality analytics at STR's parent company, CoStar.

Further, Freitag added that tourists not planning on attending the Olympics are likely to stay away until major attractions are less affected by the games. But there is likely an upside for Paris.

The Delta Air Lines executive team noted on its earnings call that transatlantic demand was robust in the fall following the Olympics. Organizers behind prior Summer Olympics in London and Barcelona tout the games as fueling long-term benefits for locals and tourists in their respective cities.

“Paris is going to benefit, and it’s going to be extraordinarily beautiful,” Accor’s Bazin said earlier this summer.

Slow and steady wins the race, it seems — at least for an Olympics host city waiting to see the tourism benefits of enduring the games.

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