Cyprus Mail 7 June 2020
Be patient, says the Hoteliers’ Association
By Jonathan Shkurko
With lockdown over but flights abroad patchy, uncertain and clogged with coronavirus-proof measures, many Cypriots, some for the first time in years, are looking to spend their holidays at home.
That means looking for good deals at hotels.
Soon after the government’s announcement that hotels on the island would be allowed to reopen their doors on June 1, the Cyprus Hoteliers Association (Pasyxe) urged its members to start offering attractive prices for Cyprus residents to develop domestic tourism as foreign tourists will be in short supply until late summer at the earliest.
Some have followed Pasyxe’s advice and adhered to the proposal to offer lower rates to locals for the summer, but there have been complaints of hotels quoting prices which are the same as last year, and even higher.
“I think such prices would make people give up their holiday plans for this summer, it would certainly be the case for me,” said Marios, a Nicosia resident who, like so many others, is looking for an affordable holiday deal.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people have also seen their salaries cut in the last few months, so paying such prices for a hotel stay at the moment seems like a bad idea.”
The same goes for Alexandra, another Nicosia resident, who is now making alternative plans after failing to find a suitable offer for her holiday.
“I wanted to book a hotel for the summer, but depending on how prices go, I will probably turn to Airbnb, which offers more choices at more suitable prices for me,” she said.
“I understand that hotels have their own expenses, which I imagine are much higher than last year, but I don’t think I’m the only one who will not be able to afford a hotel stay this summer.”
Here’s a sample of the range of prices on offer.
A two-night stay from June 12 to 14 at the four-star Alexander The Great Beach Hotel in Paphos for two in a double room would cost around €400 after a 20 per cent discount the hotel is offering for the next three months. A six-night stay at the same hotel in July is around €1,400.
A double room at Capital Coast Resort, another well-known four-star hotel in Paphos for the same weekend in June, is priced at €280, whereas a six-night stay for two in July costs around €1,000.
The three-star Crown Plaza Hotel in Limassol usually attracts a more business-oriented kind of clientele. It has not yet set an official date for reopening, but is offering a double room for two nights from July 17 to 19 at €340 and a six-night stay for the same room again in July at €1,100, lowered to €1,050 after calling the reservation department at the hotel.
In Famagusta district, the four-star Golden Coast Beach Hotel in Protaras, which is also offering a 20 per cent discount until the hotel is at least half full, is charging around €300 for a weekend stay in a double room from June 12 to 14. Its price of €800 for the same room again in July for six nights was the most reasonable of all the hotels contacted.
“We also need to adapt to a situation we have never experienced before and to a lower demand for rooms without foreign tourism,” said a manager at Golden Coast.
“In general, discounts apply to longer stays, whereas weekend stays are usually less convenient for hoteliers, bearing in mind we also have expenses to face when hosting guests,” he said.
“The next few weeks will be crucial for us, as they will give us a more reliable indication whether to expect an acceptable amount of bookings throughout the summer. In that case, we, as well as other hotels in Cyprus, will be able to offer better deals and discounts.”
On Friday Pasyxe president Haris Loizides assured that better hotel deals will be offered to Cypriots as the summer progresses.
“Due to the pandemic, the tourism sector will have to concentrate on domestic bookings,” he said.
“Prices might not be as low as expected at the moment, I am aware of that. But it’s only because very few hotels have reopened so far, so let’s not judge based on just the last few days.”
Pasyxe director general Zacharias Ioannides said the complaints that some were charging high prices was unfair, given the exceptional circumstances the country is facing.
“There are always two sides of the same coin in every situation, the same applies for hotels this summer,” he told the Sunday Mail.
“Some of our members have decided to lower their rates, some other were unfortunately not in the position to do the same because they will be faced with increased operational costs, which will have to cover the additional hygiene measures they will have to adhere to.
“Lowering rates is at the discretion of the hotel, no one can force hoteliers to offer low prices for the summer.”
