Łódź: the forgotten market
The market in the city is mainly made up of one and two star hotels, with only two in the three star category - the Hotel Centrum and Hotel Savoy (with this latter considered to be the oldest and most famous hotel in Łódź as a result of the movie Ziemia Obiecana by Andrzej Wajda). However, the high level of unemployment in the city brought about by the collapse of its textile industry does not tend to attract new investors.
According to Tomasz Nowosad, a hotel market analyst, it is unlikely that there will be any demand for four star hotels in Łódź, even over the next ten years or so. The lower costs of doing business in the city will not be enough, as it has not only lost its core industry, but its transport infrastructure has deteriorated dramatically over the last few years. That said, some companies have begun to perceive Łódź as an attractive place to invest in, as the much publicized arrival of Philips and its accounting center last year shows.
The hotel occupancy rate in Łódź is generally quite low compared to other cities in Poland, at around 40-45 percent. The three biggest hotels in the city: the Hotel Centrum, with 266 rooms, the Hotel Reymont, with 125, and the Hotel Swiatowit, with 283, operate at even lower rates, but nevertheless still continue to receive guests, despite not making a profit.
Most of the hotels in this central Polish city were constructed in the 1970s and though many have been refurbished recently, they are still far from reaching the standard set by modern hotel stock in other cities. In market analyst Barbara Wodzynska's estimation, occupancy rates only ever manage to experience a boost when trade fairs are held in Łódź, but this happens rarely and the numbers of businesspeople attending them compares poorly to cities such as Poznań, for instance.
The hotel market in Łódź seems to be in a more stable condition, however, compared to bleaker periods in the city's recent history, such as the late 1990s, when six hotels went bankrupt, and there have been no insolvency closures for a whole two years. But some operators based in Łódź believe that there is no future in the market there and are loath to construct any new hotels. This outlook, though, is not shared by the IAS&TF, recently appointed advisor to the Thretsone Emerging Market Properties fund, which believes that the city's real estate does have potential for generating profit, and this includes those hotels which were closed down but are in attractive downtown locations. As the fund is aiming to invest some zł.372.5 million ($100 million) in the city over the next 10 years, it is to be hoped that the forgotten hotel market in Łódź may yet be resurrected.
According to Tomasz Nowosad, a hotel market analyst, it is unlikely that there will be any demand for four star hotels in Łódź, even over the next ten years or so. The lower costs of doing business in the city will not be enough, as it has not only lost its core industry, but its transport infrastructure has deteriorated dramatically over the last few years. That said, some companies have begun to perceive Łódź as an attractive place to invest in, as the much publicized arrival of Philips and its accounting center last year shows.
The hotel occupancy rate in Łódź is generally quite low compared to other cities in Poland, at around 40-45 percent. The three biggest hotels in the city: the Hotel Centrum, with 266 rooms, the Hotel Reymont, with 125, and the Hotel Swiatowit, with 283, operate at even lower rates, but nevertheless still continue to receive guests, despite not making a profit.
Most of the hotels in this central Polish city were constructed in the 1970s and though many have been refurbished recently, they are still far from reaching the standard set by modern hotel stock in other cities. In market analyst Barbara Wodzynska's estimation, occupancy rates only ever manage to experience a boost when trade fairs are held in Łódź, but this happens rarely and the numbers of businesspeople attending them compares poorly to cities such as Poznań, for instance.
The hotel market in Łódź seems to be in a more stable condition, however, compared to bleaker periods in the city's recent history, such as the late 1990s, when six hotels went bankrupt, and there have been no insolvency closures for a whole two years. But some operators based in Łódź believe that there is no future in the market there and are loath to construct any new hotels. This outlook, though, is not shared by the IAS&TF, recently appointed advisor to the Thretsone Emerging Market Properties fund, which believes that the city's real estate does have potential for generating profit, and this includes those hotels which were closed down but are in attractive downtown locations. As the fund is aiming to invest some zł.372.5 million ($100 million) in the city over the next 10 years, it is to be hoped that the forgotten hotel market in Łódź may yet be resurrected.
