Malta’s EU Council Presidency could be a shoulder month boon for hotels
A number of Malta’s four and five star hotels have hiked up prices for the months of January as the country gears itself for the many conferences to take place while Malta holds the EU Council Presidency between January and June 2017.
January and February are typically considered to be shoulder months with tourism levels slowing down between the Christmas season and the spring/summer months.
The Malta Independent compared the prices of 15 four star and five star hotels around Malta for one night in the second week of November and one night on the third week of January. Out of 15 hotels, nine had increased their prices, four left the prices unchanged and two had actually decreased their prices.
The price increases range from a significant €79 to a measly €6 increase. This newsroom also compared hotel prices of Sicilian four and five star hotels, for one night on the second week of November and one night on the third week of January. Sicily was chosen because it is nearby, has a similar climate and that is also deemed to be a safe holiday destination as is the case with Malta.
It was found that the majority of Sicilian four and five star hotels reviewed had cheaper rates in January then they did in November.
Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association CEO Andrew Agius Muscat was contacted to gauge his views on whether the price hike during these typical shoulder months could be viewed as a deterrent for the regular tourist who would ordinarily visit the hotels surveyed.
He immediately said that the MHRA does not interfere in business decisions of each individual hotel, and added that hotels set their pricing based on their own strategies and forecasts.
The Malta Tourism Authority, together with the Tourism Ministry have repeatedly spoken about promoting niche markets and pushing for conferences to take place in Malta in order to gear up tourism during the shoulder months.
In line with this Mr Agius Muscat said that “in reality, it (the conferences in Malta tied with the EU Council Presidency) came at a good time because the shoulder months are when we need people. If it had come in July, it would have been very difficult to accommodate all that demand.
“This is why the MHRA insists on hosting events in the shoulder months, it is good news that in January we are seeing all this movement.”
On 3 February, the EU Council will be hosting an informal summit to discuss Brexit. This is just one of the numerous conferences that will be held in Malta throughout the rotating Council presidency.
“January and February used to be very weak. Rome was not built in a day, first you strengthen the core months, now we need to polish the core months for better tourists and extend to the shoulder months.”
He continued to say that if there are an, “increase in a number of tourists business operators feel confident so they opt for better pricing. Not everything is automatic, in July there was a reduction collective accommodation (meaning standard hotels) therefore some hotels might want to keep their prices on the low side.”
The reduction in bed nights coupled with the increase in tourist arrivals show that more tourists are opting for private accommodation, such as the services offered through Air BnB.
“The MHRA is not against the Air BnB – others abroad took them to court, we are not against the service but rather that there is a level playing field. A free for all is a risk and creates misbalance”, Mr Agius Muscat said.
He also shed light on the fact that there are not many options for large conferences that need to take place indoors.
In view of the limited competition, hotels with large indoor halls are likely to take advantage of the situation.
He explained that the situation for outdoor conferences and events is very different, as there are a much larger number of outdoor venues.
The reduction in bed nights coupled with the increase in tourist arrivals show that more tourists are opting for private accommodation, such as the services offered through Air BnB.