The Austrian Hoteliers' Association is looking with some concern to the upcoming winter 2022/23, because, as in previous years, most bookings are still arriving at very short notice. At the same time, the companies are heavily burdened, among other things, due to the high energy costs.

In view of the large number of last-minute bookings, the forecast for the winter is no easier than in previous years with Corona, explains ÖHV President Walter Veit on the nationwide industry survey by the Austrian Hotel Association with 264 participating companies: According to ÖHV-Inside, 15% of quality hotels do not see any changes in guest behavior of the crisis, 66% state that bookings are made even later than usual. "Ideally, there will be one or two booking surges before the start of the season." 71% of the hotels will keep their prices or only increase them by a single digit. 36% expect shorter stays due to the bookings received, 39% expect lower ancillary expenses: "We started the season better," says Veit. It is unclear whether bookings will be made later or less, higher costs for companies are fixed. Politics must get going when it comes to electricity prices, inflation and the labor market, the ÖHV President continued.

According to ÖHV inside, 56% of those surveyed expect more or the same number of guests as in the previous season, which started with a lockdown, and less than 44%. The extreme fluctuations are striking: 17% of those surveyed see increases of around 20%, just as many losses in this dimension: “So many companies with such heavy losses: That gives me food for thought for tourism-intensive regions.” 49% of the Holiday hotels expect declines.

81% of the companies surveyed are still hiring for the winter season, especially in service, kitchen and reception. “Austria must move up a gear in terms of labor market policy. A realistic approach to getting more people into employment would be noticeably more net from the gross, Veit calls for halving the wage tax for employees under 30 and reducing non-wage labor costs by 30% for 30 employees per company.

Because the winter is not only very demanding on the demand side, but also on the cost side: According to ÖHV-Inside, the price per kilowatt hour of electricity will rise from 11 cents in the past financial year to 19 in the current year and 32 in the coming year: “No one can make up for a tripling of electricity costs through savings. If the government only covers 30% of the additional costs, it will be very difficult. Because the costs for wages, food and interest are also rising," Veit points out that 54% of those surveyed are reducing the investment volume planned for 2023. He is therefore appealing to politicians to finally get going and reorganize the electricity and gas markets.