VOORBURG, NETHERLANDS Hotels in the Veluwe-region of the Netherlands have noticed that average occupancies, average room rates, and numbers of reservations have dropped drastically since the onslaught of Foot-and- Mouth, according to research by Horwath Consulting. In addition, the 32 hotels in the Veluwe-region surveyed by Horwath have noted that guest reservations for Easter weekend were slim.
While the influence of foot-and-mouth is clearly felt in the infected areas, hotels in other parts of the country appear to have seen little change in business so far, and in the long run, most hotel managers expect no great impact.
However, research among three-, four-, and five-star hotels in the Veluwe shows that the number of cancellations can be up to 100 per week. On average, the hotels in the infected area receive approximately 15 cancellations per week.
As previously reported by HOTEL BUSINESS., Foot-and-Mouth disease has primarily been contained to the rural parts of Europe, with major European cities seeing little or no impact of the virus. (4/9/01)