11,000 hotel rooms in Oslo are empty every night

Hotel owner Christian Ringnes believes hotels will be converted into homes and offices due to the corona pandemic.

Christian Ringnes believes the corona pandemic will lead to hotels being converted into homes or office buildings. In Oslo, 11,000 hotel rooms are empty every night.

Christian Ringnes believes many of the country’s hotel players will get into trouble before the hotel industry returns to normal, according to newspaper Dagens Næringsliv.

“The hotels that look good will be the winners. Those who choke on maintenance because they do not have money will lose. 

“We will certainly see that some hotels will be converted into apartments and perhaps also back to offices. The new construction activity will stop,” Ringnes said.

Vacant rooms

In October, only 23.3% of hotel capacity in Oslo was leased. 

That means that 11,000 of a total of 14,500 rooms were vacant each night during a period that is usually a very good period for hotels. 

There is no indication that November will be better.

“The hotels that have been least affected by the crisis are the budget hotels in smaller places easily accessible by car and train; those who are little dependent on international traffic,” Ringnes noted. 

He hopes that things will gradually get better through 2021 and that the industry will return to normal in 2023.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today