Number of hotel rooms in Maastricht remains point of debate
It's a recurring debate in Maastricht: Should there be more or fewer hotel rooms? SAHOT, the alliance of hoteliers in the city, is also wrestling with this question.
SAHOT (Stichting Samenwerkende Hotels Maastricht) divides hotel visits in Maastricht into 2 categories: business and tourism stays.
Tourism
Tourism in the city mostly revolves around peak moments. Think of the Tefaf and Rieu concerts on the Vrijthof. The challenge for hotel owners is to attract more tourists to Maastricht during other periods as well.
During the Covid pandemic, hoteliers in the city did extremely well. Now that Dutch tourists are once again finding their way to the beach in Spain, Maastricht is lagging behind, SAHOT reports.
Business
Business hotel use is also not doing quite well. Thus, local political party Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA) writes in questions to the stadsbestuur (city board): "Business accommodation leaves a lot to be desired." Here, the party refers to the – according to the CDA – weak competitive position of the MECC.
With the Gemeente (Municipality) wanting to increase the number of hotel rooms by about seven per cent, the CDA believes this is not realistic. They call for a debate in the council meeting.
