Cost gallop and people’s deflated wallets hit hotel owner Thor Halvorsen. But it has gone “much better” than the feared downturn.
Less than 10 minutes ago
– The coating has been very good. The thing about these hotels – they’re all beautiful and gorgeous – we manage to increase turnover and raise prices. But the cost of operating them just chases us from below, says Thor Halvorsen.
E24 meets father and son Halvorsen, two generations of hotel owners, at the office by the sea in Lysaker outside Oslo.
They are not the only ones in corporate Norway to notice a jump in costs. This is the biggest concern of companies, according to a new survey conducted by DNB among 1,400 companies.
Looking at spending on experiences
Rasmus Figenschou, head of small and medium-sized enterprises at DNB, says the bank sees that many people prioritize spending money on experiences, even with a thinner wallet.
– We have seen it a bit transaction number transaction numberDNB’s overview of card data.. Now we also see it in the fact that the companies themselves are more positive, he says.
He points out that, among other things, the construction industry, the car industry, sports and electronics stores have had a hard time, while companies in culture and entertainment, tourism and exports are experiencing better times.
Halvorsen owns the Norwegian Hospitality Group. He has built up the hotel chain, which today has nine hotels located mostly in the eastern region.
– The portfolio is characterized by enthusiasm and what you like, he sums up.
According to Halvorsen, the hotel chain has noticed that people’s wallets are thinner after interest rate jumps and high price growth in recent years.
– We were very worried two years ago.
– But it has been shown that perhaps people are willing to spend a little money on themselves in both good and bad times.
The hotel owner sees somewhat subdued consumption. But the hotels are still doing better than expected.
– Far better, actually. Thank God. It has not turned out as feared.
He says that the hotels have good booking figures for the next twelve months, even though the prices have been set.
– There are no margins in this to avoid raising the prices, says his son Thor Filip Halvorsen.
The hotel owners believe that the industry is going “okay”.
– I think most of us have focused on cost management. The top line has actually been ok and is growing. But the costs just follow us too quickly.
Salary, electricity, interest and taxes are expenditure items that have risen a lot recently.
– We will be happy if we come out with a small loss in terms of accounting in 2023. Then we believe in a plus year in 2024. We will have a turnover of 900 million and maybe we will manage three to four percent on the bottom line, says Halvorsen.
The hotel chain’s annual accounts for 2023 have not yet been presented. The year before, in 2022, there were red numbers.
– It turned out ok. We had large costs in 2023, because we opened two new hotels.
Figenschou in DNB points out that companies have been through a pandemic, cost jumps and interest rate increases in recent years.
– The sum of this has hit the business market hard.
– It eats away at the companies, you are not necessarily able to take out all the costs in increased prices.
Rasmus Figenschou
Head of small and medium-sized enterprises at DNB
He says that the companies are still more positive now than they were a year ago.
– Some have had to find new customer groups. Some have had to cut costs deeply and make moves in the company, but they have not gone under.
– Although we see many headlines about sad fates for individuals and companies, the Norwegian business market has, by and large, managed to adapt to the major changes that have hit them.
