IGHP: in March hotels in Poland focused on helping Ukraine

press materials

Reservations for long weekends in May and June remain at a low level, according to the latest survey of the Polish Hotel Management Chamber. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, 60 percent of. of hotels surveyed accepted refugees. Of the accommodations given to them, as many as 41 percent. was provided free of charge.

Attendance is still at an unsatisfactory level at many hotels. Also noteworthy is a clear reversal of the relationship In March hotels, primarily in larger urban centers, received refugees from Ukraine.

March the best month of the year

Among hotels participating in the survey, 1/4 did not exceed occupancy in March 30 percent. (in February it was 33%).), and satisfactory occupancy levels above 50 percent. already achieved 40 percent. (in February it was 30%).), including 20 percent. of hotels recorded occupancy rates above 70 percent.
In city hotels half recorded an attendance of over 50%. Only 20 percent. facilities did not exceed 30 percent occupancy. In non-urban hotels it was respectively 20%. facilities with occupancy rate above 50%. and 40 percent., which have achieved occupancy rates of less than 30 percent of.
In business hotels 55% of. reported results above 50 percent. of attendance, including 32% of hotels. of facilities recorded occupancy levels above 70 percent. On the other hand attendance of 30 percent. only 14 percent were not reached. hotels. In leisure facilities, it was 14 percent respectively. of establishments with more than 50% occupancy. and 47 percent., which achieved occupancy rates below 30 percent.

Prices are rising

March marked the full two-year period of the COVID-19 outbreak, hotels were able to compare themselves to both March 2019, the period before the outbreak, and March last year. Price increases compared to March 2021 as well as that of three years ago are being recorded by the vast majority of hotels, which at the same time are very close groups with 66 percent respectively. and 68 percent.
However, the percentage of responses indicating no change in prices differed: compared to last year 19% of facilities. hotels, and by March 2019. 9%. facilities. The necessity for hotels to raise prices results from dynamically increasing costs of goods and services, including first of all the prices of gas, electricity as well as salaries. The economic consequences of the war in Ukraine are another factor forcing these increases.

No bookings for long weekends

More than half of the hotels (54 percent.The hotels (hotels, hotels, hotels, hotels, hotels, hotels, hotels, hotels, etc.) indicated occupancy rates below 30 percent. (A month ago for March it was 75% respectively.). Quite equal groups (19 and 17 percent). Each) have occupancy rates in the range of 31-40% respectively. and 41-50% of., and attendance above 50 percent. only 10 percent. hotels.
In contrast, the outlook for the next two months is already very weak: nearly three-quarters of hotels have bookings below 30 percent. occupancy rate. This once again confirms that we are still dealing with the phenomenon of the short booking window, and that the traditional long weekends in May and June have not yet prompted guests to make early bookings.

Pessimism prevails

A return in hotel demand to 2018-19 levels no sooner than 2024 was indicated by more than half (52 percent.) of hotels, a fairly large group (38%), and a large number of hotels (25%).) are the facilities opting for 2023., and for the current year less than 10% of them. hotels. Pessimistic mood prevails among hoteliers – such answer was marked by 60% of respondents. surveyed.
More than 55 percent. Hotels signal problem with timely repayment of PFR Shield 2 funds.0.

Refugees from Ukraine and their impact on hotels in Poland

60 percent. of the surveyed hotels accepted Ukrainian citizens fleeing their country, mainly mothers with children. In total there were more than 55 thousand. people (adults and children), resulting in an average of 460 people per facility. Hotels provided these people with nearly 70 thousand. of nights, which gives an attendance of approx. 18%.

Noteworthy is the fact of extraordinary generosity of the Polish hoteliers, especially considering the economic consequences of the past very difficult 2 years of the epidemic. Out of 70 thousand. of accommodation, as many as 41 percent. were provided free of charge, which means an average of 8 nights per day in each hotel! 31%. 55% were stays paid on the basis of individual bookings, 15% were stays paid on the basis of individual bookings. based on agreements concluded with governmental or self-governmental authorities and 12% based on agreements concluded with local authorities. based on contracts concluded with companies, diplomatic posts, etc.

34 percent. hotels set special prices for individual reservations for refugees from Ukraine. Based on the answers given by hoteliers, the average minimum gross daily rate for a stay of one person in a hotel, i.e. for accommodation and full board, financed from public funds should be approx. PLN 150.

About the survey

208 hotels located in all provinces participated in the survey conducted online by IGHP between 4-7 April 2022. Among them, 68%. is located in cities. 28 percent. are chain hotels.