Half full at Malmö's hotel during July

In June, most hotels in Malmö had an occupancy rate of fifteen percent. But during July, more guests have checked into hotels during the holiday season.

- During July, it increased sharply and we have had an occupancy of around 50 percent, says Per Jonsson, CEO of Radisson Blu Hotel in Malmö.

Normally the hotel has 90 percent occupancy during July.

The half-full hotel largely reflects the occupancy of Malmö's hotel.

- The preliminary figures for July show an occupancy rate of around 45-50 percent, says Ann Nyström, destination manager in Malmö.

But despite the fact that the hotels are only half full, the hotel industry in Malmö has exceeded expectations.

- We thought it would get worse. And if you look at our big cities in Sweden, Malmö is the city where the hotel industry has performed the least badly, says Ann Nyström.

It is mainly Swedes who have checked into the hotels in Malmö. But soon the summer and the holiday seasons are over.

- If we look ahead, we will lose all guests who otherwise travel here in their work at meetings and conferences. It is a challenging and uncertain autumn that awaits, says Per Jonsson.

How do the staff react to this?

- It is about having a dialogue with the employees. And it will not be the same as before. The staff will need to change departments, get the schedule at a later stage and so on.

The coming autumn also worries the municipality.

- It looks very dark if we can not arrange meetings with more than 50 people. It is precisely this guideline that puts the brakes on the hotel business, says Ann Nyström.