Hotel occupancy in Porto Alegre is low for the World Cup

The fifth edition of the “Hospitality Scoreboard”, published by the Brazilian Hotel Operators Forum in the last year, projected a low average rate of occupancy in the hotel chain in Porto Alegre during the World Cup.

The calculation was made from the offering provided the lodgings (hotels under construction) and the estimated demand in the period. According to the indicator, the percentage would be around 53% in Porto Alegre for the period, while capitals such as São Paulo (81%), Rio de Janeiro (88%) and Curitiba (73%) are in more comfortable positions.

Other published data that helped further unsettle the sector is information on performance of hotels during Cups in Germany and South Africa. The analysis shows that regular guests tend to avoid host cities during the games. It is the case of Porto Alegre, typically turned to business and events tourism.

Initial forecasts, according opinions from the market, are being confirmed. So far, hotels from Rio Grande do Sul indicate a low demand for the World Cup, and the average bookings are for only two days during the matches.

With only five months left for the biggest football tournament in the world, the expectation that the demand would increase after the draw for the matches in December did not confirm itself.

The reduction in the number of visitors expected was reinforced by FIFA, which decreased by 70% the number of reservations in the city, called inventories. Five years ago, the authority asked exclusivity over three thousand apartments for the World Cup. A major reason for the low demand, hoteliers point out, is the distance between the capital and the other host cities.

According to the business manager of the Hotel Deville in Porto Alegre, Carlos Sanches, the state´s capital presents geographical and climatic disadvantages: it is far from the major centers, not to mention the low temperatures during the month in whitch the games will be happening.

“Europeans do not want to get cold” he says. The executive also stressed that high-performance teams and tourists, will avoid the hardships of traveling by plane, even more with crowded airports, high fees and poor infrastructure.

Hoteliers in Rio Grande do Sul believe that Argentine neighbors will visit the state by bus and return in the same day. Another observation made by the manager of the Mercure Porto Alegre Manhattan Hotel, Fernando Kanbara, based on experience with the Cup in hotels from the network abroad, is the retention of tourists in the city.

“In recently held meetings, we came to the conclusion that the major challenge for the sector, especially in Porto Alegre, will be to maintain occupancy in the intervals between the games, before and after them”, he says.

Constructions

The expectation for the World Cup caused a large concentration of projects for new hotels in Porto Alegre, both from local businessmen as international groups. Early last year, the projection was that the number of beds in the Capital would be expanded by at least 30%, from 16 000 to 21 000. Until June, three more hotels should be ready in Porto Alegre, bringing the number of beds up to 1200.