Economy and business, Hotel | Hotel bookings are pouring in: This summer it can be full

Kjetil Smørås, director of the De Bergenske hotel chain, says that tourists from Asia and other parts of the world, who disappeared during the pandemic, are now back.

This can pose a challenge for Norwegians who traditionally wait until the last minute to book hotels.

– The summer season is traditionally good, and now we have sold more than normal. Demand is increasing in all tourist groups. We have a good number of Americans in our exclusive hotels, but we also get more guests from Europe and Asia than last year. Norwegians must hurry if they want rooms, says Smørås to BA.

Fresh figures from the Benchmarking Alliance show that Bergen’s hotels can expect major advances in the summer months of June, July and August.

– We are heading towards a summer with a higher proportion of occupied rooms in Bergen than the corresponding period last year, confirms analyst Peter Wiederstrøm at Wiederstrøm Hotel Consulting.

Uncertainties

The measurement made at the beginning of May shows this:

The majority of hotels in Bergen report pre-booking figures to the Benchmarking Alliance, which specifies that there are several uncertainties:

It is still a little early in the summer season and changes and cancellations may occur.
Customers often wait longer than before before deciding on a resort.
The weather is an important factor.
The same is true of people’s personal finances and exchange rates.
The offer of activities and events.
Flight offers and regularity by road, train and bus.
War, terror and pandemic.

– The weather was not decisive

– I can confirm that the number of advance bookings is far higher than last year, which is nice for us, says Kjetil Røed, director of Quality Hotel Edvard Grieg at Sandsli.

The hotel director believes that the weather in Bergen is of minor importance.

– We notice growth especially when it comes to foreign tourists. Many return to us, which is nice. Once they have ordered, they will come whatever the weather. We also have visits from many Norwegian families who want to spend the last week of their holiday in Bergen, late in the summer, says Røed.

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