Rio de Janeiro – Just before Christmas, the hotels of the city of Rio de Janeiro are 90% full, surprising the sector. The greatest demand is still in neighbourhoods like Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, in the southern zone of the city, which should be fully booked for New Year, according to the Brazilian Hotel Industry Association (Abih).
"Due to the city calendar, with shows by Roberto Carlos [on Saturday], the Illuminated Parade (a kids event) [both on the Copacabana sea shore] and the Lake Christmas Tree, we have very high occupation, almost 90%”, said Abih president Alfredo Lopes.
According to the executive, the number of visitors in 2010 has already exceeded that of 2009. Lopes explained that in the last holiday of this year, 90% of the hotel network was full, whereas last year the percentage was 62%. To the association, apart from the greater demand in the city for promotion of corporate events, the great exhibition of Rio also contributed.
The association explains that ever since the city was announced as the host of international competitions, international hotel chains started seeking real estate or sites for construction. Among the new enterprises that chose Rio, Lopes mentions Grand Hyatt chain, in Barra da Tijuca, in the western zone, as well as two projects by the Windsor chain, which this year should inaugurate a hotel they redid in Copacabana. "Several buildings that were degraded are now undergoing works," he celebrated.
To supply the demand, the president at Abih said that motels in Rio have been made into economy hotels. With the expansion, there are 3,000 new rooms granting assistance to the hotel network, of whose rooms 65% have already been sold for carnival week.
Another low-cost option that has been growing in the city is the hostelling service. Paula Bottino, the manager of Cidade Maravilhosa Hostel, in Glória, in the southern zone, said that the demand this year has grown much as against last year and reached limit occupation two months ago.
Receiving many foreigners, the manager says that the hostels bring together practicality and accommodation. "Guests come to visit the city, so they have breakfast, ask for some sort of information and only return to sleep."
With the greater demand for housing, Abih estimates that the hotel industry should create 10,000 rooms before the Olympic Games, in 2016.
*Translated by Mark Ament
