The O2 Arena will host the Ice Hockey World Cup. Photo: archive
The price of accommodation in hotels before the hockey world championship in the Czech Republic is usually 20 to 30 percent higher than usual. This was told to ČTK by representatives of the contacted hotels in Prague. The World Hockey Championship will take place in Prague and Ostrava from May 10 to 26. According to them, hotels are occupied from 30 to 85 percent a month before the championship, and they expect a stronger interest in accommodation at the last minute in May. According to hotel representatives, the highest demand for accommodation will be the second weekend in May, because in addition to the opening of the championship, a concert by the Rammstein band will also take place in Prague.
According to Martin Koťátek, general manager of the Art Nouveau Palace Hotel, accommodation prices now rise by around 20 to 25 percent compared to normal May days, and on some days more. “As the price increases, the demand for more expensive accommodation decreases and the demand for alternatives increases,” he said. According to him, the hotel’s capacity is 85 percent full.
According to Czech Inn Hotels Sales Director Marek Boura, the Czech Inn Hotels chain has so far recorded a 20 percent higher demand and roughly 100 percent higher accommodation prices than during the last championship nine years ago in 2015.
This year, during the championship period, according to Boura, prices rose by up to 30 percent compared to the usual May. Czech Inn Hotels currently have 70 percent of hotel capacity occupied for this period.
According to Jiří Fontana, director of the business strategy of the Orea Hotels & Resorts hotel network, the current offer of accommodation in Prague is two to three times the normal price in the same period. According to him, Orea Hotels & Resorts are currently 30 percent occupied. “The closer the event gets, the more the higher categories of hotels will be booked,” he said.
According to hotel representatives, the requested type of accommodation more or less copies the normal demand. According to Boura, the highest demand is standard for classic double rooms. “We’re also seeing an outsized interest in multi-bed rooms from hockey fans,” Boura said, adding that fans who come for multiple nights often book better room types.
Most of the hotels approached do not plan to offer special services due to the World Hockey Championship, or have not indicated it. According to Boura, Czech Inn Hotels will offer special services according to the type of hotel. In all hotels, however, the hotel chain plans to install scoreboards in the lobby and arrange, for example, live broadcasts of matches and transportation to the O2 arena.
The representatives of all the contacted hotels agreed that a sporting event has a similar effect on the demand for accommodation as, for example, Easter, the Advent season, New Year’s Eve or long weekends. According to Boura, weekends in May are the main season for hotels even without the championship.
The influence of the championship on tourism and the promotion of both Czech destinations is perceived positively by hotel representatives, who would appreciate more frequent holding of similar events. “The World Cup of Hockey is a great opportunity, but an event once every nine years will not save us. More regular prestigious sports or cultural events, to which tens of thousands of fans come, repeated every year or two, would bring greater positives and opportunities for development to us and the host cities,” Koťátko said.
