This will be the first drop in financial indicators, after several years of double-digit growth. “We must consider things looking at the past five years: we registered significant growth in turnover and profit in Bucharest, and 2008 was the peak, more or less. Business will stabilize and even drop slightly,” Strohmayer said. He did not specify the value of turnover and indicators, however.
JW Marriott, which was the largest five-star hotel in Bucharest until recently, is largely relying on business travel. Although many analysts and market players warned that companies would reduce travel budgets, with an impact on five-star hotels, Strohmayer said that this has not become a reality so far. “I have spoken to the companies that we work with, and they indicated that travel budgets would not be lowered,” he added. The hotel will not cut tariffs, although the international crisis could lead to lower tourism traffic, according to Strohmayer. The hotel will focus on the food&beverage segment (restaurants, coffee shops, events), where a sustained growth is expected this year.
JW Marriott’s main competitors on the local market are InterContinental, Radisson SAS, Athenee Palace Hilton, Casa Capsa and Howard Johnson Grand Plaza.
