Serious price increase on the horizon for Budapest spas
After the incredible revenue losses of the last two years, visitors to Budapest’s spas can expect a serious price increase.
Years affected by Covid
The past two years have been nothing less than lethargic, especially for services where revenues highly depend on visitors and guests. A great example of this is spas: these places have been forced to stay closed for long months because they could have greatly facilitated the spread of the virus. To illustrate these words with numbers:
in the 21 months between March 2020 and the end of 2021, spas were closed for 8.5 months, with a 6.8 million drop in visitor numbers and a net loss of revenue of more than HUF 24 billion (EUR 67 million).
The future of spas
As Napi.hu reported, now, Budapest Gyógyfürdői és Hévízei Zrt. (Budapest Spa and Hévíz Zrt., hereinafter: BGYH) intends to double the number of guests in its spas this year compared to the previous two years greatly affected by the pandemic. Széchenyi Bath could become an event venue, and private medical services could be launched, while Rác Spa is planned to become a high-end facility.
However, escalating overheads and wage costs could lead to a major price increase starting from July.
The epidemic has cut BGYH’s revenues by a third, and in 2020, they failed to reach HUF 6 billion (EUR 16.7 million) in revenue (compared to HUF 18.4 billion [EUR 51.3 million] in 2019), with losses exceeding HUF 3 billion (EUR 8.4 million).
Plans for the future
For BGYH to operate effectively, the 2020-2021 figure of 1.5-1.7 million guests would need to be increased to 3 million this year. This is 70% higher than in 2021 but 60% lower than in 2019. However, the company says this can only be achieved if the spas do not have to close due to another wave of the epidemic.
For spas with a predominantly Budapest clientele, BGYH plans to increase the price of admission tickets by 8.7% from the second half of the year. For those with an international tourism clientele, this increase is going to be 20%. According to the company, this is still 30% below the international average.
However, Hungarian guests will still be able to enjoy a number of discounts in 2022.
Source: Napi.hu, 168.hu