Loading of a number of St. Petersburg hotels exceeded 100%

St. Petersburg hotels faced peak demand and occupancy during the May holidays, the Committee for Tourism Development of St. Petersburg reported. A number of hotels have reached 100% occupancy, averaging 76% between April 30 and May 3, remaining high on May 7-10, the committee added. “There is a rush demand, loading and prices,” Yunis Teymurkhanly, the owner of the Helvetia Hotel, confirmed to RBC Petersburg. Other representatives of the hotel segment talk about the first successful May since the start of the pandemic, but less successful compared to 2019.

Premium segment hotels (4-5 stars) and hostels were the most popular, the Committee for Tourism Development specified. In total, about 560 thousand guests visited St. Petersburg during the May holidays. “At the same time, the city's hotels manage to maintain a fairly attractive price level,” the committee emphasizes.

On some dates, hotel occupancy even exceeded 100%, said Yunis Teymurkhanli. “We had days with 107% occupancy, which means that some guests stayed less than a day, and the room was booked twice a day; colleagues had similar dates with ultra-high loading.” “For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, we moved guests to other hotels of the same class, because we did not have places,” he added.

According to Yunis Teymurkhanli, prices at his hotel in May increased slightly - by 7-8%, but together with high occupancy, this allowed to increase revenue not only by May 2020, but also in comparison with 2019.

According to the investor Hotel Indigo St. Petersburg Tchaikovskogo by Victoria Shamlikashvili, in general, the revenue of hotels exceeded the figures for May last year, but significantly fell short of 2019, “with which it should be compared.” She connects the 100% occupancy of hotels with the fact that many of them underestimated prices.

“If you want to go to the Louvre, you will go to the Hermitage”

According to Yunis Teymurkhanli, "Petersburg now has no alternatives in RUSSIA." “This is the only European destination that can replace for Russian travelers those cities where they aspired for cultural impressions. If you wanted to Prague, you went to St. Petersburg, if you want to go to the Louvre, you will go to the Hermitage,” he explains the peak demand for the city this May. The lifting of CORONAVIRUS restrictions also played a positive role.

For these reasons, on all peak dates, St. Petersburg will continue to face a rush of tourist demand, Yunis Teymurkhanli believes. Already from mid-May, he hopes to reach 65-80% of the load of his hotel, that is, successfully work out the upcoming high season. “Yes, this will be a season with almost no foreign tourists, but guests from Russia will replace them,” Teymurkhanli notes. He stipulates that the luxury and economy segment of hotels are in the best situation. "The middle segment is now under pressure: guests are leaving it - some up, some down, and even with high demand for St. Petersburg, some hotels will not be easy this year," predicts the owner of Helvetia.

“May will work, and then…”

“Due to the closure of borders to Europe, the restriction of air traffic and the launch of additional trains to St. Petersburg, we will, of course, work out the May holidays,” said Alena Sergeeva, chairman of the board of the League of Tour Operators of St. Petersburg, earlier. “All of Russia is coming to us this year.” But due to accumulated losses over the winter (omicron led to mass cancellation of trips) and the disappearance of Western visitors, the tourism industry will live a year in a difficult economic situation, Sergeeva predicted: “We must replenish retired flows only with domestic tourism. At the same time, it will be extremely difficult for companies focused on foreigners to retrain. It's like starting a business from scratch."