Tourists are tired of the stars – Newspaper Kommersant No. 42 (7487) of 03/14/2023

The period of price increases at high-budget hotels within the country has been replaced by a restrained pricing policy. The cost of accommodation in such facilities for the summer increased less than in inexpensive categories. The trend is associated with intensified competition with outbound destinations, and hoteliers are confident that they will still be able to ensure high occupancy at the expense of non-travel guests.

Russian hotels of the five-star category showed the least pronounced increase in the cost of accommodation for the summer. Year on year, the indicator increased by an average of 10%, to 11.6 thousand rubles. per night, calculated in MTS Travel and Bronevik.com. Prices in the three-star category increased by an average of 16% over the year, to RUB 2.5 thousand, and in the four-star category, by 20%, to RUB 4.2 thousand, year on year. Ostrovok.ru is talking about a decrease in the average cost of a booked night in five stars by 10%, to 15.9 thousand rubles, year on year. And according to OneTwoTrip, the average cost of a booked night in such hotels decreased by 17%, to 16.8 thousand rubles.

Bronevik.com CEO Marina Goncharenko attributes more restrained pricing in the five-star segment to a higher base and more professional management. “There are no such strong drops as in cheaper objects,” she points out. Demand for five-star hotels this year is stable, but the objects implement a more restrained pricing policy, says Intourist representative Daria Domostroyeva. According to her, this year such accommodation facilities are more keenly aware of competition with foreign destinations, primarily with Turkey, which is not so acute in the budget segment.

The high-end hotel accommodation cost spikes during the summer have previously been seen during the COVID-19 lockdown, and high demand with limited beds has allowed these hotels to noticeably increase profitability. High-quality hotels work mainly on a dynamic pricing system, reducing or raising the cost of a room depending on the dynamics of bookings, says Sergey Romashkin, CEO of Dolphin. And now the demand for five-star hotels is limited. According to OneTwoTrip estimates, 5.6% of users choose them for the summer domestically against 11.2% a year earlier. The share of four-star properties decreased from 31.1% to 27.1%, while those of three-star category increased from 27.9% to 31.8%.

Mantera Group says that demand for three-star hotels has increased significantly over the year and in some cases exceeds last year’s figures twice. Prices in such objects on the coast of Sochi vary from 5 thousand to 9 thousand rubles. per day, and in high-budget hotels, demand is stable and price dynamics are not expressed, the company says. Alean points out that urban five-star hotels have not risen in price over the year, but in the coastal zone prices have increased by an average of 20%. The founder of Ivashkevich Hospitality, Stanislav Ivashkevich, believes that the potential traffic of high-budget hotels within the Russian Federation will grow, in particular, due to an increase in the number of citizens who are forced to refuse to travel abroad. These are sanctioned Russians who have been advised not to leave the country for work, he says.

Tvil.ru lists Sochi, Anapa, Gelendzhik, St. Petersburg and Yalta as the most popular locations for the summer within the country. But closer to summer, the picture of demand and prices may still change significantly, Sergey Romashkin warns. Now, according to him, sold only about 20% of the total placement for June, 12-13% for July and 5-7% for August. According to Mr. Romashkin, tourists will endure the increase in tariffs by 12-15% this year calmly, but if it comes to a more serious correction, they may refuse to book. Marina Goncharenko points out that about 20% of hotels in the Krasnodar Territory and 25% in the Stavropol Territory have not yet opened the sale of rooms for the summer season. According to her, this is a common practice associated with the seasonality of hotels in the southern regions of the country: during periods of low demand, facilities are mothballed and do not provide an opportunity for online booking.

Alexandra Mertsalova