The occupancy of Prague hotels has been decreasing since 2004

Prague - The occupancy of Prague hotels has been constantly decreasing since 2004; last year the year-on-year indicator decreased by 0.7 percent to 70 percent. The reason is the increase in the number of rooms, which has risen by 3,000 during this time. In the coming years, the occupancy rate should stabilize thanks to the increasing number of tourists. This follows from a report by Jones Lang LaSalle, which deals with the commercial real estate market.
    On the contrary, hoteliers managed to reverse the trend of falling prices and revenues per room last year. The price per room per night increased by 2.1 percent to approximately 110 euros (2750 CZK) and revenue by 1.3 percent to 75 euros (1875 CZK). Demand is primarily driven by foreign guests, who make up almost 90 percent of all guests in Prague hotels. There are a total of 320 hotels in Prague, offering nearly 24,000 rooms.
    According to representatives of Jones Lang LaSalle, the hotel market in Prague will continue to develop. There are still many significant hotel companies that are not yet represented in Prague and would like to enter the domestic market. "This is an opportunity for developers," stated hotel market expert Alister McCutchion.
    In 2007, nine hotels were opened in Prague, eight four-star and one five-star. Competition in the luxury hotel market is thus constantly increasing. In 2008, 12 four- and five-star hotels are set to open; three more luxury hotels are expected to be launched in 2009. Investments in the hotel industry exceed 100 million euros (2.5 billion CZK) annually.