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Tariffs applied by 5 star hotels in the capital dropped by approximately 40%, compared to the last years, competing with 3 and 4 star hotels’ tariffs on the local market. Kurt Strohmayer, General Manager of JW Marriott, stated that the 5 star hotel market started to apply a more flexible tariff policy, rates registering significant drops from EUR 360-400 down to EUR 200-250 per room, thus matching those of 3 and 4 star hotels. According to Strohmayer, although 3 and 4 star hotels will drop rates, the main problem of Bucharest is there is not enough tourism to occupy all available room in hotels. According to a recent study of the consulting company CB Richard Ellis Hotels, in the first three months of this year, Bucharest registered the lowest occupancy rate among hotels in the capitals of Eastern and Central Europe. Thus, the occupancy rate dropped by 26.4% compared to the first quarter of 2008, due to the depreciation of national currency and the economic crisis. Strohmayer specified one of the reasons for which Bucharest registered the lowest level of occupancy rate among Eastern European capitals is that its tourism heavily depends on business tourism, the first segment which was affected by crisis, unlike Vienna or Prague, renowned tourism destinations.
Sursa: Business Standard [14.05.2009]
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