The occupancy rate of Bucharest's three- and four-star hotels will rise this year by about 10 percent, having increased in 2010 to 42 percent from 39 percent, according to the Bucharest Benchmarking Report, developed by consulting firm Fivestar Hospitality.

The report says the occupancy rate of Bucharest's four-star hotels increased to 46 percent in 2010, from 42 percent in 2009, while the average fee dropped to EUR 51 from EUR 63. In three-star hotels, the occupancy rate grew to 39 percent from 37 percent, while the average fee dropped to EUR 42 from EUR 50.

The difference between the average rate charged by four-star hotels and that charged by three-star hotels has shrunk to EUR 9 in 2010, from EUR 13 in 2009, according to Sorin Ionescu, Fivestar Hospitality managing partner, quoted by Mediafax.

At the beginning of last year, Bucharest had 52 four-star hotels and 63 three-star hotels, making up more than 75 percent of the 153 hotels in the city, according to a study by Colliers International.

Mediafax