Bucharest saw a 10.1 per cent increase in the number of overnight stays from 2013-17, the biggest rise in the emerging Europe region. Most of the other major cities in region have also seen positive growth.
When it comes to the actual number of overnight stays, however, the Romanian capital still lags. Bucharest welcomed 3.2 million visitors in 2017, far behind the regional champion, Prague, which saw 18 million overnight stays in 2017. Hungarian capital Budapest saw 10 million visitors, and Warsaw six million. Bucharest does, however, top Bratislava (2.6 million overnight stays) and Sofia in Bulgaria (two million overnight stays).
The figures were published at the end of October by real estate agency Cushman and Wakefield, in its annual CEE Hospitality Snapshot.
“Demand in Bucharest is being driven primarily by the corporate sector,” states the report. “Average occupancy was 73.6 per cent in 2017, with the larger hotels, often part of international chains, reporting occupancy rates of more than 80 per cent: some are full for more than six months of the year.”
The average price paid for an overnight stay in Bucharest in 2017 was 78.10 euros, above Warsaw (75.60 euros) and Bratislava (63.60 euros) but below Prague (87.50 euros) and Budapest (84.30 euros). Readjusting the figures to take into account occupancy, each available hotel room in Bucharest generated 57.50 euros per night in revenue in 2017, a 6.4 per cent increase on 2016.
With room for growth, a number of major hoteliers have new Bucharest properties in the pipeline. Marriott will open a Courtyard-branded hotel in the northern, mainly corporate area of the city, and a Moxy-by-Marriott hotel close to the city centre next year. A new Ibis hotel – Bucharest’s fourth Ibis property – is also scheduled to open next year in the city centre.
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