Automatic

💸 Donald Trump's tariff policies since his return to the White House prompted a capital exodus in the stock market, leading to Wall Street's worst performance since his comeback on March 10, with the S&P 500 plummeting 2.7%, Nasdaq by 4%, and Dow Jones by 2.1%. U.S. hotel occupancy dropped 2.7% in the third week of February compared to 2024, and early travel bookings in the U.S. decreased by 36% in February, as per Affilired. The European Union retaliated with new taxes on U.S. goods worth €26 billion. Despite economic uncertainty, 29.12% of February bookings in the U.S. were early bookings. In Europe, early bookings increased in key markets like Germany (11%), France (15%), the UK (33%), and Italy (9%), but declined in Spain by 16%.

🏨 Cristina Salmerón, Chief Marketing Officer of Fergus Hotel Group, addressed the challenges of hotel brands, highlighting the need for adaptation to an evolving environment and maintaining brand consistency with the experience provided. She discussed Fergus Group's focus on asset value for stakeholders, leveraging three business units, two distinct brands (Fergus Hotels and tent Hotels), and a white label (Affiliated by Fergus). Fergus Group has been operational for over 10 years, aiming at repositioning hotel projects. Salmerón emphasized the importance of Spanish hotel chains' strong international market presence and identified digitalization and social media as amplifiers for hotel companies' reach. She also mentioned the significance of unique value propositions for independent hotels to compete with larger groups.