Hungarian hotels in trouble: many forced to close down
Hungarian hotels are in great trouble as inflation continues to rise. The unaffordable utility prices may force many of them to close. It is impossible to channel all the added costs to the guests — says the Association of Hungarian Hotels and Restaurants (Magyar Szállodák és Éttermek Szövetsége).
Untenable situation
To the inquiry of HVG, the MSZÉSZ stated that many hotels will close temporarily. The new bills have just started arriving and some hotels already struggle with the increased utility prices. Temporary closures can be expected from October or January up until April-May.
Even now, most facilities have resorted to dynamic pricing, meaning that prices can change daily. As the time between the reservation and the arrival date has shortened to about 3-7 days in the case of individuals or smaller companies, it manly pose an issue in the cases of larger conferences or group reservations. Due to this, the contracts usually contain a clause that allows hotels to revise prices above given inflation rates.
The main problem is that the approximate cost of bills in the winter is still unknown. Therefore many opt out of the winter season altogether, only reopening in spring, when expenses should be lower due to the reduced energy and heating costs. The problem is further complicated by inflation as wage increases were necessary. The rising costs combined with the new wages are just too hard to handle for many.
Solutions
A hotel in Somogy has already shut its doors saying:
“In order to be open next year, we have to close down for now.”
The solutions differ in the case of each hospitality establishment, but the Somogy hotel at least informed the employees well in advance. Most of them had the chance to look for other jobs and the hotel’s management even helped to find them a temporary solution. Some employees will be transferred to an Austrian hotel for the ski season and after that, they would be to return the upcoming period.
According to the management, in the heating season, the natural gas alone would cost about 6 million HUF (15,000 EUR). It is also uncertain how the prices will fluctuate in the near future. They aim to bring out the maximum of the situation by keeping the café and the office open preparing for a hopefully better next year.
Read alsoHungarian hotels in trouble: many forced to close down
Source: HVG.hu