Spa-hotels most popular

The number of nights spent by guests in commercial places of accommodation was down by 1 percent in the January-November 2008 period, compared to 2007. Revenues were down by 0.5 percent. 3.3 million foreign guests had spent a total of 9.479 million nights in commercial places of accommodation by last November. The number of guests arriving from Germany, Austria, the US and Italy dripped, while that of guests from the UK and Romania increased substantially. There is an increase in the number of guests arriving from Russia, Poland and Norway, while the number arriving from France and Spain is constantly falling. Revenues showed stagnation in three and five star hotels and dropped in all other categories. The number of domestic guests was 3.853 million, with 9.365 nights. Foreign visitors arriving on business or for conferences account for 31 percent of the total. Health was the objective for 11 percent of recreational visits. 31 percent of hotel guests went to medicinal and wellness hotels. Only 29 percent of visitors used the services of travel agents for booking accommodation. The average occupancy rate for hotels was 50 percent in the above period and 63 percent in the case of spa-hotels. Total gross revenues generated by the accommodation sectors amounted to HUF 229 billion, which is 0.5 percent less than a year earlier. Room revenues totalled HUF 131 billion. The gross average room rate was HUF 14,941, while REVPAR was HUF 7,435. The average price of accommodation services was up by 8 percent, compared to 2007.