More luxury hotels in Budapest but for whom?

Hungarian hotels have record-breaking turnovers and revenues, portfolio.hu reports. Based on the data coming from the first half year, the soar of foreign guest-nights has slowed down a little, but we do not know the high-season numbers of July and August.

Compared to last year, the first six months of 2018 show a 6.1 percent growth in domestic guest-nights and 3.1 percent in foreign guest-nights. The total value means a rise by 4.4 percent, which suggests that the Hungarian hotel industry may break records this year again. Gross income grew by 9.6 percent, although one must not forget that this includes the weakening of the Forint as well. This might affect the high-season because the Forint went over 320 compared to the Euro in June, resulting in a difference of revenues for those places that have foreign guests.

Promising results

Considering this, as far as the revenue is concerned, the industry is sure to break the records this year.

What gives even more reason to be optimistic is the success of the festivals: Balaton Sound, VOLT, Efott, Campus and Sziget festivals all had record numbers of guests this year. Moreover, many people have visited the Hungarian Formula 1 GP, and the traffic of Liszt Ferenc Airport is also dynamically growing.

A peek at statistics

Until the end of July, about 8.4 million passengers have visited the Liszt Ferenc Airport, which means 14.7 percent development compared to the same period last year.

However, the positive tendencies might not paint an honest picture.

The fact that the number of foreign guest-nights increased by 3.1 percent actually shows slowing dynamics, as this number was above 7 percent the last two years. Data from the high season might change these results, but it is undeniable that the growth has slowed down outside the peak time.

It is also a little surprising that the number of foreign guest-nights improved mostly in the countryside (with 5.3 percent) and not in Budapest (1.9 percent).

Hotels under construction

There is an ongoing debate among experts about the nationality and type of foreign guests the country should and could attract. However, the last one and a half year shows a solidifying trend, that is, 5+ stars hotels are gaining ground steadily. In line with this tendency, Hungary already has a popular luxury hotel, and there is more to come. It is widely accepted that wherever these companies show interest, something is about to happen there, as they base their investments on carefully considered forecasts.

So let us take a look at the 5-star hotels that are being built in Hungary at the moment.

All of these are located in Budapest, and you can also see their room capacity:

• Tüköry Hotel – 152
• Matild Hotel – 156
• Hyatt Regency – 200
• Renaissance Hotel Marriott – 180
• W Marriott –165
• Párisi Udvar – 110

These luxury brands such as Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Renaissance by Mariott, or the W, are only investing when they are sure of their success.

Therefore in the next few years, we can expect six new hotels with a total of 963 rooms. So far, there are 1615 5-star rooms in Hungary according to the Central Statistical Office (KSH), so this would mean a great expansion. (Nevertheless, we must bear in mind that the Central Statistical Office does not include about 40 percent of the Hungarian room capacity.)

Taking into account that the increase of foreign guest-nights has slowed down, we must wonder if there is a real demand for this spectacular expansion.

However, the attention of the big hotel chains seems to forecast a boom in the industry, so let us stay optimistic. And if you are looking for somewhere to stay this summer then choose from the top 10 hotels in Hungary.

Source: portfolio.hu