Now prices are falling: in Corona summer, hotel accommodation is cheaper

Accommodation in noble locations should be cheaper this summer – view of the “zero star” hotel room above Walenstadt in the Heidiland holiday region. Image: keystone

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Now prices are falling: in Corona summer, hotel accommodation is cheaper

A survey by the ETH Zurich shows that a record 50 percent of companies plan to lower room prices.

Niklaus Vontobel / ch media

“There are simply no price reductions for hotels,” said Andreas Züllig at the beginning of May. The president of the HotellerieSuisse industry association justified the rejection of a price war with the already very narrow margins. Martin Nydegger, Director of Switzerland Tourism, also advises against a discount battle. “That would not be good.”

Nevertheless, room prices drop in Corona summer. The hotel industry would rather have avoided it. But simultaneously with the reopening of mountain railways and campsites, bathing facilities and cultural venues, a survey shows: It is happening. In a quarterly survey conducted by the KOF business research institute at ETH Zurich, a record 50 percent of all Swiss hotels say that they will reduce their room prices in the next three months.

In Corona summer, survival is fought behind the chic scenes of many hotels and restaurants. Nydegger from Switzerland Tourism said yesterday at a press conference: «Since the war years around 1940, we have not experienced what we have had to experience since spring 2020.»

The drama is part of the new campaign, which means: “I need Switzerland”. But the survey also shows that price pressure is high, similar to the one after the franc shock. When the National Bank lifted the minimum exchange rate, a similar number of hotels planned with falling prices. Alpine tourism in particular struggled for a long time until it was again competitive in terms of price.

The fact that it will degenerate into price dumping – this will remain the exception that occurs in corona times. There are examples of four-star hotels that offer a room more or less at the price of youth hostels. But prices have already dropped nationwide. This week, the national consumer price index showed that overnight stays in May were 4 percent cheaper than last year.

Tourist sea regions with the greatest price pressure

In the Corona summer, however, the tourist worlds differ in price. There will be the most movement in the tourist sea regions, for example in Lucerne or Interlaken. There, over half of all hotels are planning to offer the rooms cheaper: 54 percent. The previously booming business with Asian leisure tourists is completely breaking away.

“A lot is turned upside down in Corona summer,” says Guglielmo Brentel. The current President of Zurich Tourism was long President of the Hotelleriesuisse industry association, sits on the boards of several hotels and works as a consultant. «Regions are doing badly, which previously boomed thanks to guests from Asia or the Gulf States. Things are going well in regions where this boom has passed, but which have always relied on Swiss guests. » The prime example of this is Graubünden. For years, the tourist stronghold was more or less on the tourist side. Now this standing apart makes the canton a counterpart to the summer misery that can be observed elsewhere. Experts believe that prices will hardly move. Brentel expects more guests than in the last corona-free summer. “With a bit of luck in the weather, Graubünden will have a good summer.”

Discount campaign: rooms 20 percent cheaper

Somewhere between the extremes of lake regions and Graubünden everything else joins. The larger cities are closer to the sea regions, where only half as many guests are expected as last year. According to the survey, around 48 percent want to go down in prices there.

Take Zurich, for example. The city and its surroundings have risen to become the largest tourist region by far. Now almost half of the otherwise arriving guests cannot come. She usually travels by plane, but the airport is largely closed in summer. Business tourists hardly ever come. Brentel: “It is futile to fight against it with discounts anyway.”

By contrast, prices for leisure guests will decrease. In order to save what can be saved, these guests are recruited in the cities, especially in Switzerland and Germany. In Zurich, around 80 hotels will offer their rooms 20 percent cheaper on weekends in a joint promotion.

Holidays in Switzerland – like in the nineties

Other alpine regions can be found closer to Graubünden and further away from the summer tourist misery. Brentel, for example, gives Zermatt a good chance of an enjoyable summer. What the KOF expert Florian Hälg says generally applies: “In the Alpine regions, prices come under less pressure.”

Foreign guests are less missed in alpine tourism. There are more Swiss guests who prefer to stay at home in Corona summer. On some days the rush will be huge. The return of old habits can be observed. Brentel says: “There are families again who book two whole vacation weeks in Switzerland. The last time I saw that was in the 1990s. » But everything is relative. Alpine tourism suffers less. But he is also missing three out of ten overnight stays this summer. The guests who come can benefit from discounts: four out of ten hotels expect lower room prices.