The draft law on legalization of gambling, which is being discussed within the framework of the working group of the Verkhovna Rada, after its adoption could give a significant impetus to the development of five-star hotels and encourage investors to open new facilities in this segment, Managing Partner of ArtBuild Hotel Group Oleksiy Yevchenko believes.
“A significant impetus to the development of hotel business will be provided by the adoption of the law on gambling, which will regulate the placement of casinos in five-star hotels for a certain number of rooms depending on the region. Hotels for casinos could appear both in large cities and in smaller towns, causing the active development and growth of a certain region,” he said at the conference “Hotel Real Estate in Ukraine: Development Prospects.”
According to the expert, the bill has a chance to be adopted before the end of 2019 or at the beginning of 2020. According to the document, casinos will be placed in five-star hotels with over 200 rooms in Kyiv, and over 120 rooms in Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro and Odesa, and from 100 rooms in all other cities.
“This will only spur the development of the five-star segment. The question is whether we have the key targeted audience here and whether there are enough tourists to fill this particular segment. In Kyiv, the occupancy of five-star hotels is on average 38%. And if another five to ten objects are built, as there are already real investors interested in this, with the number of rooms exceeding 200, with large places for organizing casinos, what will happen to the economy of these hotels?” the expert said.
He said the draft law under consideration provides for a mandatory requirement for hotels: the availability of 500 square meters of free space for a casino.
“Out of about 70 five-star hotels in Ukraine, only eight to ten hotels have such a large free space. Therefore, it is very important how the bill is adopted,” the expert stated.
DEVELOPMENT, FIVE-STAR HOTELS, GAMBLING BUSINESS, LEGALIZATION
