Brazil moving away from traditional hotels

Visitors to country are predicted to try and sidestep exorbitant hotel rates Brasília - Arab Today If current trends in Brazil persist, visitors to the country during the 2014 World Cup are predicted to increasingly turn to alternative accommodations to try and sidestep exorbitant hotel rates. According to a recently released study commissioned by the Ministry of Tourism/Embratur, in recent years bookings in hostels, campsites and rental houses rose six percent in Brazil, to make up 17 percent of the total international visitor accommodation market, reports industry publication eTurboNews. Hotel stays take up about 51 percent of the market share.
The search for alternative bookings comes amid charges that the hotel industry is inflating rates by as much as 500 percent during the games, a move that could harm the country’s tourism reputation and discourage potential visitors.
Those who plan to attend the games may also want to reserve their accommodations now as homeowners are already taking bookings for their properties now that the 2013 FIFA Confederations World Cup and World Youth Day are over.
According to the English-language daily The Rio Times, property owners in the city are offering up their homes to visitors looking for a more authentic stay in the country, for more space, or where possible, less expensive lodgings.
But renting a studio apartment for four weeks over the World Cup may mean shelling out $7,000 USD, while a four-bedroom penthouse apartment for large groups and families may cost up to $150,000.
According to the same survey, expect to spend about $75 a day -- the average daily expenditure among foreigners.
The tourism ministry’s latest edition of its annual International Tourist Demand Survey also revealed that while visitors ranked the country’s hospitality, gastronomy and restaurants highly, telecommunications and the country’s road infrastructure received the worst ratings.
Last year, the largest tourist markets were Argentina, followed by the US, Germany and Uruguay.
Meanwhile, FIFA has created a site specifically for hotel accommodations (hotels.fifa.com) as have popular home rental site Homeaway and Roomorama.com.
Source: Relaxnews