Parahotel industry confident about winter after a strong summer
Published: Friday, Nov 10th 2023, 09:20
Updated At: Saturday, Nov 11th 2023, 00:54
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The Swiss parahotel industry can look back on a strong summer. Virtually all sectors welcomed more guests last summer. The industry is now looking forward to the winter.
Accommodation in the Swiss para-hotel industry experienced a real boom in the 2023 summer season, the umbrella organization for vacation apartment landlords and youth hostel operators, IG Parahotellerie, announced on Friday. In almost all areas, there was a pleasing increase in both the number of overnight stays and turnover, in some cases to new record levels.
According to a survey by IG Parahotellerie, the partially significant decline in Swiss guests has been more than compensated for by the return of foreign visitors. The number of guests from Switzerland, for example, fell by a quarter at the holiday home agency Interhome, but 50 percent more US-Americans came. There was also increased demand from Great Britain, France and the Far East.
Shorter stays
However, more overnight stays than in the previous year were also recorded in the beds of BnB Switzerland, the bed & breakfast provider, or the vacation villages of the Reka travel fund. The latter noticed a trend towards shorter stays, which is why reservations increased more than the number of overnight stays and turnover.
The boom in campsites heralded by the coronavirus pandemic does not yet seem to be abating. TCS Camping increased guest numbers by over 6% compared to the previous year and achieved the second-best figure in its history.
The growth rates of the youth hostels show that they were able to push through higher prices. The number of overnight stays increased by just 1.5%, but turnover rose by 6.6%. Demand from schoolchildren and guests from Asia was particularly strong. "Due to the rise in costs, a price increase was unavoidable as part of our dynamic pricing system at the end of 2022," says Janine Bunte, CEO of Swiss Youth Hostels, in the press release.
Into the winter with optimism
The majority of vacation apartment landlords and youth hostel operators are optimistic about the coming winter. The signs for a successful 2023/24 winter season are extremely positive, writes the umbrella organization. As usual, however, much still depends on the snow situation, as the trend towards shorter-term bookings continues.
At Reka, for example, bookings for the winter season have increased the most for March, while the weakest month in terms of bookings compared to the previous year is December, and in particular the week before Christmas. Overall, the booking situation at Reka is stable compared to the previous year. However, the Travel Fund is still expecting a significant increase in bookings, with the snow conditions likely to have a major impact.
Swiss youth hostels, on the other hand, have significantly more advance bookings, especially for January. Although Interhome is experiencing an increase in demand, reservations are still slightly below the level of the record year 2022. However, Interhome expects that the uncertain snow conditions will mean that the Swiss will increasingly book at short notice.
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