Hotel development pipeline across the CEE region remains robust, but tight lending conditions has resulted in some major projects being postponed, according to the latest CEE Hotel Market Overview issued by CB Richard Ellis Hotels. Developers are focusing on existing projects while the availability of finance remains scarce, CBRE said.

Hotel development pipeline across the CEE region remains robust, but tight lending conditions has resulted in some major projects being postponed, according to the latest CEE Hotel Market Overview issued by CB Richard Ellis Hotels. Developers are focusing on existing projects while the availability of finance remains scarce, CBRE said.

Across the region, Prague is leading the way in terms of number of added bedrooms for 2009, with recent additions to the market including the Clarion Congress, Barceló Premium and Kempinski Hybernska sites.

In addition, hotel performance indicators in the region have been poor in comparison with recent years. International brands remain interested in the region, although they are selective in both location decisions and types of operating agreements they propose.

'In general, hotel performance for 2008 across CEE was not as good as 2007. Occupancy fell 6,7% while ADR (average daily rate) increased by 7,4%, resulting in a minor increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room) of 0,2%,' said Martin Thom, Associate Director at CBRE CEE Hotels. He added: 'Bucharest and Prague were amongst the weakest performing cities with RevPAR in both locations falling in excess of 11%.'