Although 2020 started superbly and with great
expectations, it cut down even the A-listers on the Bulgarian real
estate market – investors in office, retail and hospitality
properties.
The lockdown sent IT companies, which had been dictating the
local office space market, into home office. The future of
commercial and entertainment properties like shopping malls,
cinemas, concert venues and sports arenas remains uncertain.
But of all sectors, tourism remains the hardest hit. The crisis
has postponed the opening of 1,070 hotel rooms in four- and
five-star hotels in Sofia, including the first Hyatt Hotel in
Bulgaria.
Globally the trend looks the same. At the end of March 2020,
Marriott International reported a 75 % decrease in revenue, Accor
closed almost 30 of its hotels, Best Western announced a 90 %
decrease in revenue, and IHG cut its dividend for the first time in
25 years.
