“In absolute values, the data for the first months of the year are not comparable, because we had many hotels closed for renovation, and we opened a new 150-room hotel in October, etc. If we speak in comparable data, we have revenues similar to those registered last year, with the decline a mere 4-5 percent. The market did register a slight drop, and now it is bouncing back. The forecast for 2009 targets a turnover similar to that of 2008,” the Operation Manager of Continental Hotels, Michele Meoni, told Business Standard.

The company seems to be gaining market share, because “we have been very aggressive in sales and marketing in the past two years, and we changed our strategy and adjusted it for every market segment,” Meoni added.

The company official said that tariffs on the luxury segment will not slide, although the economic crisis puts pressure on prices. And the price cut on other segments does not necessarily have to be related to the economic crisis, or a reaction to adjust to market conditions, but is rather a result of internal restructuring processes to maintain the profitability level.