Between 2019 and 2021, the total number of overnight stays in Polish hotel rooms increased by almost 6,2 percent. However, according to the RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room) index, hotels generated 43 percent less revenue per room than before the pandemic. According to experts, because of the pandemic, the hotel market has had hard years behind. Now, Polish hoteliers face similar problems caused by the war in Ukraine.
The lack of guests in 2021 had the greatest impact on the finances of hotels in Cracow and Warsaw, according to the report. Although hotel owners count on a return of tourists this year and an improvement in the low occupancy rate of the past 2 years, the sector has a long way to go to return pre-pandemic revenues.
As experts pointed out, in 2022 hoteliers hoped they would be able to make up for losses and achieve results similar to those recorded before the pandemic. “It was supposed to be the first fully undisturbed year for their operations. They counted especially on the return of foreign tourists, which were so lacking during Covid-19,” the report said. On February 24, the war in Ukraine began; foreign tourists and corporate guests have resigned from their hotel reservations.
The cities such as Cracow, Warsaw, Poznań, Wrocław, and Tricity have lost out the most due to the unstable hotel market.