Automatic

📈 Spanish hotel chains with more than 1,000 rooms are experiencing positive trends with two-digit revenue growth for most, except for 15 out of 79 chains. The top 10 chains account for €15.681 billion, 70% of the total €22.345 billion. Riu Hotels & Resorts leads with €3.607 billion in 2023, a 24% increase from the previous year. Barceló Hotel Group remains second with €2.917 billion, up 14.5%. NH Hotel Group (Minor Hotels Europe & America) ranks third with €2.163 billion, nearly 23% more than last year. The top spots remain unchanged up to the eighth position.

🏦 Kiwi.com, an OTA founded 12 years ago in the Czech Republic by Oliver Dlouhy and Jozef Képesi, operates in 180 countries with a significant market in Spain, where their main office outside of Brno is based in Barcelona with 90 employees. In 2024, after a record-breaking 2023 in seat sales and profits, the company launched a new product - 'Kiwi Guarantee' - to resolve common customer concerns, available now in Spain following Central Europe. This guarantee offers solutions for connecting flights, real-time assistance through the app, and transparent pricing, even redirecting customers to airlines if it's cheaper. The company, which sees Spain as a vital market partly due to its low-cost airline operations, has partnered with Ryanair and observes a 7.3% increase in ticket prices in 2024, with top Spanish destinations including Italy, Greece, France, England, and now Albania.

💸 Cloudbeds and Mirai announced a strategic alliance to transform hotel reservation management and marketing. This partnership offers clients advanced direct booking optimization, operational streamlining, and digital marketing expansion. Cloudbeds' properties gain access to Mirai's distribution network and marketing tools, while Mirai can offer specialized solutions to a broader audience. The collaboration aims to increase revenue, operational efficiency, and long-term success for hoteliers. Services include Contact Center for phone bookings and digital marketing products such as search engine marketing (SEM) and social media campaigns to enhance online visibility and reduce reliance on external booking platforms.

💸 In Madrid, a luxury hotel room costs at least €1,000, a significant increase from five years ago. Barcelona's average hotel night price was €190 from January to August 2024, up €16 from the same period in 2023. Business travelers, facing rising accommodation costs across Europe, are considering alternatives like videoconferencing, cheaper hotels on city outskirts, or "corporate housing" apartments. Apartool offers a B2B platform for managing corporate housing, aiming to make apartment booking as efficient as hotel reservations. In Barcelona, a 40-night stay costs €4,264 (€107/night), while in Madrid, a 74-night stay in a studio costs €6,622 (€90/night). Businesses value apartments for convenience, cost-saving, quality services, and integrated billing.