BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 18
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
The analysis of the yearly Hotel Price Index shows that hotels in Georgian Guria (-32.1 percent) and Adjara (-21.7 percent) decreased their prices the most in August 2020, followed by Samtskhe-Javakheti (-20.1 percent), Racha (-12.5 percent), and Mtskheta-Mtianeti (-12.2 percent), Trend reports via the Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG) International development company.
The year-on-year decline was even higher for 3, 4 and 5-star hotels compared to the decline in the prices of guesthouses: in Guria, the prices for 3, 4 and 5-star hotels declined by 39.4 percent, while the hotels decreased their prices by 30.1 percent in Samtskhe-Javakheti and by 28 percent in Adjara.
In addition to the Hotel Price Index, the average prices of accommodation in the two regions were analyzed in August 2020, 2019, and 2018. In Guria, the average prices for both guesthouses and 3-star hotels increased in 2019 compared to 2018, by 17 percent and 23 percent respectively.
In August 2020, both types of accommodation suffered a major drop compared to 2019, with the average prices of guesthouses declining from 161 laris ($51.20) to 67 laris ($21.31) and the average prices of 3-star hotels declining from 185 lari ($58.83) to 120 laris ($38.16).
In Adjara, the average prices of 3-star hotels and guesthouses have been declining for the past two years.
The average price of guesthouses in August decreased by 11 percent in 2019 compared to 2018, and by 2 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, while the average price of 3-star hotels declined by 10 percent in 2019 compared to 2018, and by 20 percent in 2020 compared to 2019.
In Batumi, the average prices of guesthouses decreased by 4 percent in August 2020 compared to 2019, while the corresponding figure for 3-star hotels was 24 percent, which is a significantly larger decline than in Adjara overall.
The picture is quite different for 4 and 5-star hotels in Adjara. The average prices of both grew in August 2019 compared to August 2018, by 8 percent and 17 percent respectively, and they both suffered a major drop in August 2020, compared to August 2019.
The prices of the 4-star hotels declined the most in 2020 compared to 2019 (by 38 percent on average), while the prices for 5-star hotels declined by 25 percent on average. In Batumi, the average prices of 4-star hotels decreased by 34 percent in August 2020 compared to 2019, while the corresponding figure for 5-star hotels was 13 percent, which is a significantly smaller decline than in Adjara overall.
"In August, Georgian seaside hotels adopted the strategy of lowering prices and kept their facilities relatively occupied, not stopping their activities. Whether this strategy pays off or not largely depends on the future of the pandemic," the report said.
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