International Property News

Czech Property - Prague hotels' revenue per available room 45% lower in Sept yr/yr

29th September 2009

Revenue per available room at hotels in Prague is 45 percent lower in Sept this year compared with last Sept due to the crisis, according to data from the company STR Global that include 9,000 beds in Prague.

The data were presented to CTK by Michal Chour, head of the Radisson SAS Alcron hotel and member of the Prague section management of the Hotel and Restaurant Association.

Lower number of foreign tourists and lower prices are behind the drop in the revenue per available room (revpar).

"The crisis affected Czech tourism in March 2008 already," said Chour.

The revpar indicator decreased by a quarter in Prague between Jan and Sept.

Some hotel owners say it is the worst season in the past 20 years.

The number of foreigners was 11 percent lower in Prague in Jan to June compared with the same period last year.

Outflow of foreign tourists will continue in the first half of next year, said the analytical firm Mag Consulting.

If foreigners do visit the country, they spend less time and lower amounts of money here. Prices are falling as a result, with some luxury hotels offering EUR40 (around Kc1,000) per night under certain conditions.

Also, small tour operators in the country report a drop in client numbers of up to tens of percent this year and big ones register a fall in units of percent only. The number of travellers at Prague's Ruzyne airport has decreased as well.

Source: Prague Monitor