Hoteliers hoping for upturn

2010-06-28



Last year was a challenging period for the hotel industry. Companies operating in this segment expect that the worst is past them and the coming years will seen an upturn, as reported by Puls Biznesu.
In 2009, European prices for hotel rooms fell by up to 16%, while occupancy rates dropped by 6.2%. Yield per hotel room slumped by approx. 21.2% relative to the earlier years. The numbers of tourists and business travellers were lower likewise.
10.6 million people used Polish hotels in 2009, according to the Tourist Institute (IT) data, which marked a 1% decline year on year. Concurrently, the number of foreign tourists decreased by 3.8% to 3.1 million, but more domestic tourists stayed at hotels (up by a mere 0.4%). In 2009, there were 6,900 collective accommodation establishments in Poland, comprising a total of 606,500 beds. 1,634 hotels operated in Poland in 2009, which included 85,000 rooms and 165,600 hotel beds; these figures have steadily risen on an annual basis. The Polish hotel market is highly fragmented, according to IT. 30 domestic and international hotel chains have over three hotels each.
In connection with the approaching Euro 2012 tournament, the next two years will be marked by increased investments in the hotel market. However, projects starts have recently been hindered by the economic crisis and unfavourable weather conditions prevailing in the first six months of the year.

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