Snowboarding at Jasná. (source: Unsplash)
If you want to ring in the New Year in the picturesque Liptov region of northern Slovakia, and you don't happen to live there already, you might struggle to find accommodation: there are only about 40 cottages and apartments left in the whole region, according to the largest Slovak database focused on accommodation in hotels, apartments and private houses.
"For New Year's Eve, the greatest interest is in cottages. The reason is the privacy they offer," says Tomáš Császári from the megaubytovanie.sk website. Usually, more than 700 providers offer accommodation on the website. Only a fraction now have accommodation available over the New Year holiday.
Kataría Šarafínová, communications manager of the Liptov Regional Tourism Organization, echoes the claim. "New Year's Eve stays are the most popular in Liptov. The interest rises as it gets colder and snow accumulates at higher altitudes."
The capacities near local ski resorts are among the first to be booked.
This is most visible in the case of the Jasná resort, as accommodation near the Demänovská Dolina valley, near the town of Liptovský Mikuláš, is usually among the first to sell out. Now only a small number of offers is available. A similar situation applies at the Malinô Brdo resort and for accommodation in the Hrabovská Dolina valley near Ružomberok.
According to Šarafínová, it is still possible to get beds in hotels and guest houses. Moreover, the chance of finding accommodation increases with the distance from local ski resorts. But as the end of the year approaches, even these spaces tend to fill up very quickly.
On the other hand, accommodation over Christmas is still available.
New Year's Eve is one of the most lucrative dates of the year for accommodation providers. "In the case of New Year's Eve, a lot of accommodation facilities are booked more than a year in advance. However, the greatest interest begins after the end of the summer holidays," Császári notes.
