Accent Hotels Expects Strong Revenue Growth

Hotel operator Accent Hotels expects that in 2022, average annual occupancy in some of its hotels will reach – and revenue will far exceed – the record year of 2019, while significantly rising operating costs will eat into the expected additional revenue of the hotels.

One of Hungary's largest hotel operators told the state news agency MTI that in 2022, occupancy rates in Budapest and rural hotels, which are mainly business hotels, will still be below the 2019 results, but occupancy rates in wellness hotels may exceed the record year's figures, and their revenues may surpass them. In Austria, the market is expected to recover gradually for hotels near popular ski resorts.

Their hotels, which were forced to shut down for several months at the beginning of last year, have already performed better than forecast in the summer, and occupancy rates in Budapest in the autumn have also given cause for optimism. At the end of May last year, buoyant demand brought unexpected results: rural wellness hotels were operating at occupancy rates close to 90% in the summer season, with a 10.5% improvement in average prices. Since September, interest in the capital has also increased, with average occupancy rates at the chain's Budapest properties approaching 80%.

Accent Hotels' deputy managing director for strategy, Péter Kerek, said in a statement that the hotel's qualified and experienced staff has enabled it to respond flexibly to rapid changes in the market.

In response to MTI's enquiries, the company said that although tourism has started a slow recovery, the new waves of the pandemic bring with them a constant threat and uncertainty.

The cumulative turnover of the 25 hotels belonging to the Accent Hotels chain in 2020 reached 60% of the 2019 turnover. Last year's preliminary results show a 30% improvement compared to 2020. The hotel chain's revenue in 2021 is 21% below the pre-outbreak level.

It said 87% of its total turnover is generated in Hungary. 80% of total room capacity is domestic, and 20% is in Austria, where extremely strict epidemic measures have caused an even bigger drop in hotel turnover.