Kraków: a tourist center that's set to grow
There are 2,985 two, three and four star hotel rooms in the city, with the two star sector commanding the largest market share with 40 percent, while the three and four star brackets each have a 25 percent foothold.
However, this high number of hotel rooms does not translate directly into high occupancy rates, with the average in Kraków being 50 percent as a result of the city experiencing a sharp drop in the number of visitors at the end of the holiday season, a trend that Dominik Granada, marketing manager of Old Town Apartments, maintains has continued for the last few years. However, though hotels in Kraków are dependent on the high season for most of their income, downtown hotels, such as the Atrium, earn enough during the season to survive the slow periods.
As an historic city, Kraków has several famous hotels, such as the Hotel Francuski, with its central location next to the Czartoryski Museum. Constructed in 1912, it was only properly refurbished in 1991. This was also the experience of the Hotel Warszawski, which is also renowned in the city. Built more than 100 years ago, it was given its contemporary facelift only a few years ago.
The hotel market in Kraków is as diverse as the city itself. Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter ignored by hoteliers during the communist period, has since welcomed several new hotels over the past two decades. One example is the Hotel Ester, which in 1988 opened its doors to tourists in the heart of the district. Indeed, leading hotel market analyst Andrzej Antosz believes that Kazimierz could well become home to a boom in hotel construction over the next few years, and one or two Israeli hotel chains have already announced that they are going to set up business there. One obstacle to this, however, is that the city's spatial laws are very strict and there is not much space left in Kraków to build new hotels, particularly in the center.
Neglected for years by international chains and hoteliers, the market in Kraków witnessed a mini-boom after 2000, which was kick-started by the construction of the four star Hotel Orient. Then in April 2003, the Holiday Inn opened, as did one of the biggest four star hotels in Kraków, the Radisson SAS. There is only one five star hotel in the city: the Sheraton, which has 232 rooms and a number of apartments. The extended stay market, which has developed in response to the oversupply of hotel rooms in Kraków, is further represented by Old Town Apartments, which offers 24 self-service apartments as an alternative to conventional three-to-five star hospitality.
However, this high number of hotel rooms does not translate directly into high occupancy rates, with the average in Kraków being 50 percent as a result of the city experiencing a sharp drop in the number of visitors at the end of the holiday season, a trend that Dominik Granada, marketing manager of Old Town Apartments, maintains has continued for the last few years. However, though hotels in Kraków are dependent on the high season for most of their income, downtown hotels, such as the Atrium, earn enough during the season to survive the slow periods.
As an historic city, Kraków has several famous hotels, such as the Hotel Francuski, with its central location next to the Czartoryski Museum. Constructed in 1912, it was only properly refurbished in 1991. This was also the experience of the Hotel Warszawski, which is also renowned in the city. Built more than 100 years ago, it was given its contemporary facelift only a few years ago.
The hotel market in Kraków is as diverse as the city itself. Kazimierz, the Jewish quarter ignored by hoteliers during the communist period, has since welcomed several new hotels over the past two decades. One example is the Hotel Ester, which in 1988 opened its doors to tourists in the heart of the district. Indeed, leading hotel market analyst Andrzej Antosz believes that Kazimierz could well become home to a boom in hotel construction over the next few years, and one or two Israeli hotel chains have already announced that they are going to set up business there. One obstacle to this, however, is that the city's spatial laws are very strict and there is not much space left in Kraków to build new hotels, particularly in the center.
Neglected for years by international chains and hoteliers, the market in Kraków witnessed a mini-boom after 2000, which was kick-started by the construction of the four star Hotel Orient. Then in April 2003, the Holiday Inn opened, as did one of the biggest four star hotels in Kraków, the Radisson SAS. There is only one five star hotel in the city: the Sheraton, which has 232 rooms and a number of apartments. The extended stay market, which has developed in response to the oversupply of hotel rooms in Kraków, is further represented by Old Town Apartments, which offers 24 self-service apartments as an alternative to conventional three-to-five star hospitality.
