Hotel manager Mattias Solberg at Hotel Royal in Gothenburg laughs at the memory of the dramatic days in March when occupancy fell from almost 90 to five percent overnight.

- I could not believe it was true, he says.

And the hotel was not alone in going into crisis in mid-March when national restrictions were imposed. New figures from the industry show that occupancy in hotels in the big cities has gone from 69 percent in June last year to 22 percent last month. At the same time, the average price for a hotel night has decreased by 29 percent in Gothenburg, 25 percent in Stockholm and 14 percent in Malmö.

- The profitability of the hotels per night has decreased by 70-80 percent compared to last year, says Stefan Gadd, press manager at the municipal company Gothenburg and co which is tasked with promoting tourism and the hospitality industry in Gothenburg. They compile the latest statistics several times a month.

Photo: Source: Benchmark alliance

Extra forum

During the spring, meetings have been arranged for the hotels in Gothenburg where they can compare their situations.

- Everyone describes pretty much the same thing. April was at its darkest. Since then, it has increased a little every month, but it is a big drop compared to last year. Normally we would have had the Gothia cup and a number of other events here that drew people. But when they are absent and Liseberg is closed, it will of course be a big dip for the hotels, he says.

Will there be as many hotels to choose from next year?

- It is completely impossible to answer. It all depends on how long the restrictions last. Will we start traveling from and to Sweden? will the fairs start? I wish I could but I can not answer.

Small rise

Several hotels in Gothenburg that SVT spoke to testify to a slight increase since the domestic travel restrictions were lifted. At Mattias Solberg's hotel, they are today occupied at 40 percent instead of around 10 as before. All permanent staff have been able to keep their jobs with the help of redundancies.

- It looks better for us now this month. At this rate, we can at least make it through the year, so I am hopeful, he says.