Hungary’s Hotel Occupancy Slumps

At present Hungarian hotels are marked by disturbing occupancy rates and a dramatic fight for guests. These issues were debated by leaders of the regions at the board meeting of the Hotel Association of Hungary on 15 January.

Although occupancy varies from region to region, in some places hotels are 20 percent below last January’s data and New Year’s Eve failed to bring full houses; predictions for February are even blacker. The main reason is the lack of corporate events.

In the Balaton region only the Orthodox Christmas brought Russian groups to Heviz, although Zalakaros reported a significant downturn. In the Great Plain, pre-bookings have all but dried up and in the countryside guests are only booking in to hotels with wellness facilities, and then only during the weekends. Hotels in the east region have already started a cutthroat pricing battle, while west region hotels report a critical situation.

Mr. Imre Deak, CEO of Danubius Hotels, warned that missing turnover is due to the weakness of the MICE market, therefore hotels are giving discounts to those guests who would book in anyway. Executives of the HAH also emphasized that lower room rates will be very hard to lift again once the recession is over.