Crowne Plaza, 25% below budget since the beginning of the year

“For us, the drop is 25 percent. We only made 75 percent of what we had budgeted, but we have to make allowances for the fact that the 2009 budget is slightly higher, by three percent, than last year’s budget,” the General Manager of Crowne Plaza, Pierre Boissel, told Business Standard.

The company official said that 2009 will be a difficult year for the hospitality industry, as demand for hotel rooms remained unchanged while supply increased significantly. However, things could pick up in 2010 or even towards the end of this year.

“We want to maintain tariffs and not panic, raise the quality, and provide additional services for the same tariffs. We have redecorated the rooms, improved our facilities, including the conference rooms, and are already collaborating with a team of architects to renovate public spaces,” Boissel added.

The other hotel owned by Copos, the Athenee Palace Hilton, lowered accommodation tariffs by 20-25 percent. According to the company official, the strategy for adapting to the crisis included reducing the hotel’s staff by one fifth since November 2008.