No foreign guests
The corona crisis affects hotels in Swiss cities more than those in mountainous regions. Also because Swiss prefer to spend their vacation in the mountains. The city hotels are now facing a tough price war.
Hotels in the city fear for their future.
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–Instead of bookings, you only receive cancellations in May.
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–Mountain hotels are also not doing so well. But you can count on local guests.
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–Over 80 percent of guests in Swiss city hotels come from abroad.
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–Because of the corona virus, the limits are closed. So tourists cannot just enter. The hotels get to feel that.
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–In order to attract local customers, city hotels offer rooms for the home office.
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–According to Christian Laesser, Professor of Tourism at the University of St. Gallen, this is just a “drop in the bucket”. There is a temporary overcapacity in the hotels.
–Daniel Ammann
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–There is no one-size-fits-all solution, says Laesser. Because many Swiss live in urban regions and would like to spend their holidays in a rural region.
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- Hotels in the city suffer more from the corona crisis than mountain hotels.
- Because over 80 percent of city guests come from abroad.
- And local guests don’t spend holidays in city hotels.
- That’s why the city hotels are facing a price war.
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The borders are closed and guests stay away: Swiss hotels are hit hard by the corona crisis. Many companies are therefore currently closed. On May 11, however, some hotels will open their doors again. While mountain hotels can count on local guests, hotels in the city fear for their future.
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Instead of bookings, the city hotels are currently only receiving cancellations: In Geneva, 88 percent of all guests canceled their reservations in May, like that “Sunday newspaper” writes (Paid item). In Zurich it was 85 percent and in Lucerne 84 percent. Mountain hotels also receive cancellations – but less: the rate is 61 percent in Graubünden and 68 percent in Valais. There, many customers would wait to see how the situation developed.
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Hotels do not save rooms for the home office
The lockdown has often hit city hotels harder than hotels in the mountains. Because many mountain businesses are closed in spring anyway. The lockdown came for her in the off-season. Hotels in the city are usually open all year round.
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Hotels in the mountain region can also count on lodging guests from Switzerland. In city hotels, over 80 percent of guests come from abroad. Because the borders are closed, they can no longer enter the country.
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“Business people are also an important customer segment for hotels in cities,” explains Christian Laesser, tourism professor at the University of St. Gallen. But these guests are also currently absent. Because many work in the home office and hold meetings online. “These customers are missing in the medium and long term because business trips are cyclical and the economy will remain recessive for a while.”
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Distances are too small in Switzerland
Some hotels try to attract customers with rooms for their home office or for other isolated activities. But: “It’s just a drop in the ocean,” says Laesser. In addition, many new hotel operations have opened in Swiss cities in recent years. These are thousands of new beds that are now empty. “Now, of course, there is temporary overcapacity.”
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There is no one-size-fits-all solution, says Laesser. Because many Swiss live in urban regions and would like to spend their holidays in a rural region. “In addition, the distances in Switzerland between these urban areas are too small: someone from Geneva does not want to spend the night in Bern if the way home only takes around two hours.”
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Hotels will go bankrupt
Jörg Arnold, hotel director and member of the management of Hotelleriesuisse, therefore suspects that the hotels in the city are facing a tough price war: The big chains in particular would try to attract guests with discounts, as he told the “Sonntagszeitung”.
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International companies with hotels in different countries could distribute their costs better than small hotels. Arnold therefore suspects that many hotels will not survive the crisis. According to a survey by the hotel association, this is already the case every fourth hotel with bankruptcy.
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