Szallas.hu: last minute accommodation bookings continue to grow this year

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 01. 27. 11:14

The majority of accommodation bookings were for 1-2 nights last year, Hungarian travellers are planning shorter breaks, and experts at the accommodation booking portal Szallas.hu expect last-minute bookings to continue to grow in 2025.

According to Szallas.hu’s annual review sent to MTI on Monday, Budapest, Siófok and Eger were the most popular domestic destinations in 2024. Other popular destinations were Szeged, Gyula, Pécs, Hajdúszoboszló, Hévíz, Miskolc and Balatonfüred.

Short stays and bookings worth less than 50,000 forints rose in 2024. According to their data, two out of three accommodation bookings were worth less than 100,000 forints last year. 45 percent of all bookings were worth no more than 50,000 forints, and a quarter were between 50,000 and 100,000 forints.

27 percent of the total value of online payments in 2024 was settled with a SZÉP card on the Szallas.hu website.

Lili Kelemen, the press spokesperson for Szallas.hu, highlighted in the statement:

The proportion of one-night bookings increased in 2024 at the expense of two-night stays, which shows the popularity of short and spontaneous getaways. This also resonates with the fact that, according to Szallas.hu’s experience, the proportion of last-minute bookings was strong last year.

“We expect this to be a strong trend in 2025 as well,”

– she explained.

Most bookings came for the high season, August and July, and long weekends were also beneficial to domestic tourism players last year, with the 20th of August being the most fruitful. According to Szallas.hu, nearly 70 percent of reservations were for non-hotel-type accommodations, including apartments, guesthouses, and bed and breakfasts.