Traditionally, the Easter long weekend marks the real start of the spring season in the hotel industry. Hotels that are closed during this few-day period alone are forced to suffer an aggregate revenue loss of more than HUF 4 billion, Moore Hungary consultancy and audit firm points out, adding that there is still a realistic chance of a strong summer tourism season.
Although some market players considered the Easter hotel opening as a realistic scenario even a month ago, the evolution of the epidemic situation has thrown this calculation into doubt. In the decade before the pandemic, Easter long weekends were full not only for hotels in tourist destinations, but also for hotels and restaurants in non-tourist cities, due to the visits of family members from abroad and from within the country.
The shortfall is particularly painful for the hotel industry because, for hotels and other tourism businesses serving the leisure sector, Easter marks the real start of the spring season. In March and April 2019 hotel performance trend reports published by the Association of Hungarian Hotels and Restaurants (MSZÉSZ), the upward effect of Easter is clearly visible: while in March the national average hotel occupancy rate was exactly 50%, in April it jumped to 61.4%, largely due to the Easter long weekend.
„After the Christmas and New Year period, this is the first time that hotels see a surge in guest numbers. After the more difficult months at the beginning of the year, this would be an extremely important liquidity injection for all operators,’ said Márton Takács, head of Moore Hotel and Tourism Consulting. - This is when operators in the most popular destinations in the summer are having a ’dress rehearsal” after their early spring preparations for the season, and the sudden surge in traffic is a great test for operators' pre-season self-checks. The turnover generated at this time can also be a source of pre-summer recruitment."
Experts from the consultancy Moore Hungary estimate that hotels nationwide will lose more than HUF 4 billion in revenue in the period from Friday to Monday. The calculation only takes into account hotel stays, other types of accommodation and independent restaurants are not included.
Moore Hungary expects that the pace of vaccination and the increasing vaccination rate of the population will allow hotels, restaurants and attractions to operate normally in June, at least for domestic guests, and the industry to close a strong peak season this year with the gradual return of guests.
In the meantime, on the ownership side, the relief from social contribution tax, vocational training contributions and rehabilitation contributions payable by employees, as well as the credit moratorium, which as it stands now will be maintained until 30 June 2021, should keep the economy afloat. „In the coming weeks, we expect to see an increase in the number of industry players joining the quick-start loan programme run by the Hungarian Development Bank to temporarily rebalance their situation,” added Márton Takács.
Moore Hungary
Moore Global, which started in a London office more than 110 years ago, is now one of the world's leading consulting and audit networks. Present in over 100 countries worldwide, the network has more than 600 independent offices and over 30,000 employees. The group's turnover for the last financial year exceeded $3 billion.
Moore Global's services will be directly available in the domestic market from March 2021. Moore Hungary has been offering a full range of consulting services in the fields of business, financial, tax, accounting and auditing with a team of almost 100 experts since its inception.
In our fast-changing world, Moore provides strategic guidance and practical advice to help clients navigate and understand the complex regulatory and changing market environment and industry conditions, and thereby find the best solutions.
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