Unsurprisingly, hotel occupancy in Milan and Venice dropped
precipitously last week. Milan and Venice are in the regions of Lombardy and
Veneto, respectively, which have emerged as ground zero for Italy’s Covid-19
outbreak.

STR data for the week of Feb. 24 indicates that occupancy in
Milan was down nearly 80% from the year before, while Venice occupancy fell 70%.
The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 4 advisory (do not travel) for
the Lombardy and Veneto regions.

Hotels outside of Italy are suffering, too. Athens’ occupancy
declined approximately 50% last week, and Barcelona’s fell roughly 35%. Barcelona’s
hotel sector reeled from the cancellation of the Mobile World Congress trade
show, which was to be held in the city Feb. 24 to 27. 

Other slumping European cities are Vienna, where occupancy
fell around 25%, as well as Prague and Munich, which both posted occupancy
declines of just over 20% for the week, according to STR.

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