Hotel industry players optimistic in spite of international crisis

However, they said that the impact of the crisis is not likely to be as severe as in Western European countries. “Extreme variations of the exchange rate make us more cautious in terms of what is to happen next year. The current market situation will more severely impact those who enter the five-star hotel market,” according to Howard Johnson five-star hotel General Manager, Peter Craig Martin, who was attending the international conference “Hospitality Trends – Bucharest” yesterday.

Players in the industry expect a 10 percent increase of the overall hotel market this year, in terms of value. For 2009, the growth is set to temper to 7 percent.

The General Manager of five-star Hilton hotel agreed, saying that “the Romanian hotel market will not be as affected as the Western one,” while Professor Stowe Shoemaker, specialized in hotel administration, said that significant deals could be concluded against the current economic background.

“There is still money available. Romania will not be very affected by the international crisis, because there is still liquidity on the market; as far as hotel investments are concerned, banks are reluctant to grant loans,” Shoemaker added.
According to market analysts, the hotel occupancy ratio declined 10 percent this year, while the revenue per room declined by over 4 percent since May.