IN THE MAJOR BUCHAREST HOTELS, Business travelers can account for 90% of the occupancy rate

Bucharest hotel owners have seen slight increase in turnover last year, compared to the previous years, as several factors, (economic, domestic, social) helped this outcome.

Daniela Dumitrescu, marketing manager at Radisson Blu Hotel of Bucharest, says: "Statistics show that at the level of the entire hospitality market, the year 2012 has brought slight increases compared to the previous years. This is also caused by the stabilization of the state of the economy, as it is well known that this industry is heavily and quickly influenced by the fluctuating economic realities in Europe and all over the world. Evidence of the fact that the Romanian market has seen an expansion is the fact that new hotels have been opened or are going to be inaugurated in the coming period".

Hotel turnover has also increased slightly due to demand, which compared to 2011, showed better prospects. Most of the guests of the major hotels in Bucharest come from their business sector, which means that they can account for as much as 90% of the total occupancy rate.

In the Europa Royale hotel, which is one of the latest players on the local market, and is just one year old, the percentage of tourists checking-in for business purposes has reached 90%, according to Giedre Straksaite, Deputy Manager of Europa Royale. He said: "Between mid-January and the end of June and then between the beginning of September and mid-December we have approximately 85 - 90% business tourists as our occupants. During the winter, Easter and summer holiday, the occupancy rates increase to favor leisure tourists. Our guests on that segment come mostly from Greece and Italy".

Speaking about competition on this market, the representative of the hotel located in the Unirii square says: "Competition is very harsh in Bucharest, especially on the business hotels segment. There are many locations in central areas or near areas of interest such as the airport, Romexpo, event rooms. They have many rooms and a very wide range of services. Thus, you need to be very good to compete on the local market, especially with the international hotel brands. Our strong points are location and the price/quality ratio. One year after the opening, I can say that we have many customers who are loyal to us, which proves that we are heading in the right direction".

The officials of the five star hotel JW Marriott noted that last year the number of business guests that checked in to the hotel was greater than in 2011. Meda Vasiliu, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Marriott hotel, told us: "On the business segment, which represents approximately 80% of the hotel's customers, there was a slight growth in 2012 compared to 2011 due to the international conferences which were held in Bucharest".

Also, the hotel has seen a slight increase in tariffs in the second half of 2012. Meda Vasiliu said: "This became possible especially in the months of September and October, which for us are the < on-season > months of the second quarter. In 2012, accommodation prices have increased by about 6% and this was possible especially due to the month of May, when the finale of the Europa League had an impact on the entire hotel market of Bucharest as well as due to the slight increase in prices on the individual tourist segment".

• JW Marriott: "The year looks good"

Among the predictions for the current year, Marriott officials are seeing a promising start for 2013: "2013 had a very promising start for us, but it is very hard for us to judge one entire year based on its first three months, given the economic and financial issues that the Eurozone is faced with. The first quarter of 2013 has proven to be better than expected, compared to the budget and the similar period of 2012 and we hope the trend will keep up in the coming months and we will go through this fog which has set down over Europe". Throughout this year, the luxury hotel will undergo major changes: "We have great plans for this summer, when we have made it our goal to completely rebuild the lobby of the hotel, including the bar on the ground floor, and we will do this in a period with a lower occupancy rate to avoid affecting the activity of the hotel, and the satisfaction of the guests", Mrs. Vasiliu said.

The owners of the Europa Royale hotel are seeing an increase: " For the first months of 2013 we have aimed for an occupancy rate below 50%. We have ended January and February by reaching that percentage, but in February we have had a pleasant surprise because we have come to an occupancy rate of 60%. We expect April to be better than March".

Giedre Straksaite said: "We are a young hotel on the market and we expect growth every year. Our target is 61%, but we are working hard to exceed it".

• Business clients want conditions which allow them to do their work

Speaking about the customers which make up the bulk of the reservations of the Europa Royale hotel's, he said: "Our business customers aren't difficult to please, they have no special requirements - they expect us to provide them with all the services they need to do their work - a comfortable work area in the room, good quality wireless internet, professional staff to help them with the various errands - ordering cabs, transfers, cleaning their clothes, restaurant reservations. They also expect a quality and very varied breakfast, a good restaurant and quality rest".

In order to please and attract business customers, the Raddisson officials resort to various strategies: "A segment with a growing potential to increase the number of business tourists is that of conferences and international fairs. Given a good promotional plan, this MICE segment (ed. note: which concerns meetings and events) can significantly increase and bring profits accordingly on the accommodation and events segments as well", says Daniela Dumitrescu.

Radisson Blu, located on Calea Victoriei (Victoriei Avenue), expects the market it is present in to maintain its slightly rising trend in 2012, and in terms of competition, the main players on this market will intensify their actions to increase their market share. Its representatives told us that they estimate significant increases when it comes to the total number of business customers, compared to the total numbers of guests of the hotel.