Occupancy at the Quality Hotel Ramsalt in Bodø was 68.8 per cent in September. Hotel manager Kine Willumsen notices people returning.
– Arriving in September showing good speed as September 2019 is a good feeling.
During the pandemic with Skype and Teams meetings, the hotel industry feared that the conference market would dry up. The grim prediction did not come true.
Don’t believe in hiking
Fortunately, it failed. People want to meet. We’ve had many big conferences that have followed each other. The private market has also rebounded, so we see that people want to travel. What we are waiting for is that the business market will recover as well.
Interest rates are rising and many are concerned about rising prices for electricity, fuel and food. However, the hotel manager doesn’t think the September numbers are a hoax.
– These are scary times, but by reservation, there is no indication that the numbers will go down. The rest of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 look bright, Willomsen says.
Hotels are full
The overall picture is positive and the industry needs it now.
Here’s what hotel consultant Peter Wiederström says. Each month it analyzes numbers from the Benchmarking Alliance.
The number of hotel rooms sold in Norway is now on par with the year before the pandemic.
– We’ve previously had several summer months that were, in terms of sales volume, on par with previous summers, but this was due to price growth and not coupled with occupancy growth in the way we see it now.
He believes that the cause of the growth is a complex picture.
– We have been through the epidemic as companies have created a need to travel and meet, and many companies are now having good times. This means that the activity level is high. When it comes to vacations and leisure, you’ll probably be more involved, because the private economy is tougher for most people, he thinks.
Oslo is the winner
Where do you work best in Norway?
– When we look at the winners and losers among the big cities, we have to look at their starting point, says Wiederström.
continue:
– We can say Oslo is a big winner, but they had a poor September last year. There is an increase in occupancy in 11 out of 13 large cities in Norway, starting from September last year and from September 2019. 12 of the 13 large cities also experienced price increases compared to September last year and September 2019.
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