New brands are entering Czech hotel market and hotels are changing hands according to recent research by Cushman & Wakefield. The company writes that recovery in tourist demand along with an improving property investment market are behind the recent activity.
Despite a decline in numbers of Russian tourists due to the Ukraine crisis, occupancy levels have remained stable in the first half of 2014, allowing hoteliers to increase room rates. ADR in Czech crowns increased by 7.2 percent in H1 2014. “We see an inflow of tourists from new destinations such as Asia who look for hotel brands they are familiar with in other markets, says Frédéric Le Fichoux, Head of Cushman & Wakefield Hospitality for the CEE region. “Among the new brands which have recently entered the Prague market are B&B, Penta Hotels or Motel One which is scheduled to open in December 2014.”
Rocco Forte and Kempinski, on the other hand, are two brands that are leaving the market. The five-star Four Seasons and Savoy hotels changed hands recently and C&W expects further deals to close before the end of the year. Fichoux says that it makes more sense now to buy a hotel than to build a new one, as property prices are below replacement costs. One of the few smaller new hotels scheduled to open in Prague is the Wilson on top of the Wenceslas Square, which is a refurbishment of the Bílá Labuť department store that once operated from the location.
