Accommodation providers look back on a successful winter season
Published: Sunday, May 19th 2024, 10:00
Updated At: Sunday, May 19th 2024, 10:40
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Swiss accommodation providers can look back on a successful winter season, according to a survey by the umbrella organization Hotelleriesuisse. Almost half of the establishments were able to increase their turnover compared to the previous year, as Hotelleriesuisse announced on Sunday. The record 2022/2023 season was therefore surpassed once again in the past winter season
A total of 44% of the businesses surveyed achieved higher sales in winter 2023/2024 than in the previous year.
However, according to the survey, a quarter of establishments recorded lower turnover. This trend was more pronounced in urban hotels and hostels. The latter were also less satisfied with the winter season than establishments in Alpine regions.
This could be due to the increase in rooms and beds in urban areas, as a result of which occupancy rates declined despite a record number of overnight stays. This had an indirect impact on average accommodation revenue per room night as well as a direct impact on revenue per available room, Hotelleriesuisse reported.
Good summer and price increases expected
According to the survey and measured in terms of overnight stays, businesses also expected positive figures for summer 2024. A third of respondents expected higher turnover compared to the previous year, while half expected the figures to remain stable.
Here too, however, the forecasts in urban areas were more subdued. Only 23% of urban accommodation providers expected higher turnover, while 28% expected turnover to remain the same and 18% expected it to be lower than in summer 2023.
According to the survey, prices for overnight stays in hotels also rose in 2024, albeit less frequently than in the previous year: around half of the establishments stated that they would increase prices for the summer season compared to 2023.
In Hotelleriesuisse's assessment of the situation a year ago, three out of four establishments stated that they were increasing their prices. The main reasons given for the current price increases were higher staff costs, rising energy prices and general inflation. The rise in value-added tax is also a contributory factor in the increased prices.
Skills shortage remains the biggest challenge
Meanwhile, the companies surveyed considered the shortage of labor and skilled workers to be the biggest challenge. Last year, 44% of companies had difficulty filling all vacancies. The recruitment of apprentices was also becoming increasingly difficult. More than a third of training companies rated the search for apprentices as more challenging than in the previous year.
According to the survey, 42 percent of companies therefore introduced a loyalty bonus or more vacation time for employees. Around 30 percent of companies abolished the room hour. The introduction of a four-day week was also an issue for many of those surveyed. Such measures would make the field of accommodation more attractive for employees, Hotelleriesuisse also reported. However, where the situation is still critical, further measures are needed at a political level.
In December 2023, Hotelleriesuisse last stated that the problem of a lack of skilled workers in the hotel industry had eased somewhat compared to 2021, i.e. during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The remaining shortage could be mitigated, said the then President of Hotelleriesuisse, Andreas Züllig, in an interview.
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