Multi-million Euro Hotel Bookings Recorded by Hungarian Guests

Besides the capital, Eger, Szeged, and Pécs attracted the most guests in winter, with the majority of Hungarian travelers taking short winter trips this year. According to holiday accommodation portal Szallas.hu, the season was characterized by one to two night bookings.

The analysis sent to MTI showed that many people used SZÉP cards (fringe benefit provided by employers) for domestic travel, paying for almost a third of the total value of online payments in December last year and 26% in January and February.

According to the portal’s booking data, most travelers chose the Northern Great Plain and Budapest-Central Danube regions, with four out of ten domestic accommodation bookings being made in one of these regions. In the northern region, besides Eger, Debrecen, Hajdúszoboszló, and Nyíregyháza were the most popular, while in the capital region Budapest was by far the most popular, followed by Visegrád and Esztergom.

In the ranking of the regions, Lake Balaton came in third place, and this year it received a larger share of Szallas.hu bookings than last year, Lili Kelemen, the portal’s press spokeswoman, said in the press release.

Hévíz, Siófok, and Zalakaros were the favorites of Hungarian guests in the lake area during the winter season.

Three quarters of the bookings did not exceed HUF 100,000 (approx. EUR 250), another 17 percent were between HUF 100,000 and 200,000 (between EUR 250 and 500), while the share of bookings over HUF 300,000 (EUR 750) was nearly seven percent. Among accommodation types, hotels were again the most popular this season, with 41 percent of bookings, according to the information. Apartments were chosen for one in four bookings, while guesthouses and pensions accounted for 16 and 13 percent of bookings, respectively.

The vast majority of bookings were for small groups, with 60 percent for two people and 14 percent for one person. Three-person bookings accounted for 10 percent, while 16 percent were for parties of four or more.

In 2024, Hungarian guests booked HUF 41.1 billion (EUR 102.6 million) worth of accommodation in Hungary through the booking site.

Via MTI, Featured photo via Facebook/Hunguest Hotel Freya Zalakaros