The Brussels Hotels Association paints a worrying picture of the year 2025. “Contrary to the hopes raised by the end of the health crisis, the recovery for hotels has come to a standstill and is now in danger of stopping completely,” Van Weyenbergh said on Wednesday.
Unfair competition
According to available indicators, hotel activity is still below pre-COVID levels in 2019. The occupancy rate is 70.7 percent, “significantly lower than the 74.7 percent in 2019”. “That figure confirms the lack of growth for the hotel sector, which has suffered for five years from unfair competition from illegal accommodations, which represent almost 25 percent of the market.”
Income per hotel room also remains virtually the same and does not increase. Van Weyenbergh states that inflation was absorbed by the hotels, but was not passed on in the price of a hotel room.
Higher VAT
The hotel sector also fears the increase in VAT on hotel rooms to 12 percent, in combination with the regional city tax. Something that, according to them, “not only has consequences for the customer, but also disrupts the value chain of the hotel sector, its suppliers, operators and subcontractors”.
The Brussels Hotels Association wants the federal and regional governments to understand the seriousness of the situation. “Without a quick change of course, the entire Brussels tourist chain is in danger of weakening.”