Distribución y Revenue Management

🏡 Riu introduces the Elite Club offering exclusive services for premium clients, featuring a dedicated bracelet for access. This premium area includes an exclusive restaurant, beach area, pool, and private lounge. Additional perks include welcome gifts, room aromatherapy, premium drinks across the hotel, high-end liquor dispensers, and a snack-filled minibar. Elite Club services are available at Riu Palace resorts, such as Kukulkan (Cancún), Macao (Punta Cana), Pacifico (Riviera Nayarit), Jamaica (Jamaica), Baja California (Los Cabos), Antillas (Aruba), and Mauritius (Mauritius), with Riu Palace Bavaro being the first family-friendly hotel to offer it.

🏖 eBooking.com reports that summer 2024 beach destinations in Spain will cost 7.3% more than last year, averaging €195 per night, while international coastal cities average €184, up 18.4% from €155 in 2023. Cheapest beach cities include Rio de Janeiro (€109), Naples (€132), and Istanbul (€137). The most expensive in Spain are Ibiza (€317), Marbella (€277), and Palma de Mallorca (€276). Prices in Punta Cana, Eilat, and Albufeira are rising by 47.2%, 27.1%, and 19.1%, respectively.

✈️ Ryanair approaches tenth partnership with online travel agencies, announcing a deal with German company Omio. Customers of Omio will now have access to Ryanair's low-cost flights with full price transparency and booking access. This marks Ryanair's eighth recent partnership, previously teaming up with Viajes El Corte Inglés, Expedia, Tui, Lastminute.com, Kiwi, Etraveli Group, and On the Beach. Potential addition of Destinia is in negotiation, expected to be announced in the last quarter of the year.

✈ Ryanair, renowned for its partnerships with various online travel agencies, has now added Omio as a verified OTA, expanding its list of partners including Travelfusion, Expedia, Etraveli, loveholidays, and lastminute.com. This collaboration allows Omio's customers to book Ryanair's low-cost flights with price transparency and complete access to their reservations, enhancing travel options for over 240 routes. The move aligns with Omio's mission to offer seamless, comfortable, and multimodal travel experiences globally.

🏠 Airbnb experienced a notable slowdown in growth causing a 14% loss in investor value on Wednesday, followed by a mere 1% improvement on Thursday. This downturn aligns with similar troubling forecasts from Delta Airlines, Marriott, and Booking anticipating a regressive fall. Despite this, Airbnb aims to transition into a more serious and professional organization, focusing on quality control improvements for its listings and service enhancements, while expanding into less penetrated markets.

🏖️ The Federación Empresarial Hotelera de Mallorca (FEHM) criticizes "extremist attacks" on tourism in the face of recent vandalism in Palma de Mallorca, impacting local community and deterring key markets. Palma woke up to anti-tourism graffiti, like "El turismo os hará libres" and "Stop Tourism". German and British media reported on a "Kill a tourist" graffiti in Manacor, deemed sinister and unjustified. The FEHM demands respect for Baleares' 203,495 tourism workers and calls for graffiti removal. Palma's city council promises cleanup and increases fines from €100-750 to €1500-3000 for vandalism.

💸 Renfe's new Avril trains, operational since May 21, have encountered 479 issues out of approximately 1,800 operations, which is 26.6%. The recent chaos at Chamartín station on August 6 involving an Avlo service from Valencia to Madrid will cost Renfe about €340,000. Punctuality rates for these trains are over 30 points below the company's average. A YouGov study indicates most Spaniards view tourism positively despite increasing social rejection of its negative externalities in major cities. In "QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024," the first Spanish school for studying Hospitality, EUHT StPOL, ranks 11th in Europe, with Swiss schools dominating the top 7 positions.

🏥 Nautalia's CEO Rafael García Garrido predicts a record 2024 with €450 million in revenue, a 15% increase, and €8 million Ebitda, up from €7 million in 2023. Key sales months include June to September. Wamos Air's integration into Abra involves no operational impact but is sentimentally significant, leading to a debt-free group.

🏦 Top Universities released QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, with Swiss schools dominating the top 7 European spots for Hospitality. EHL Hospitality Business School, SHMS-Swiss Hotel Management School, and César Ritz Colleges Switzerland lead the list. The first Spanish institution, EUHT StPOL, ranks 11th in Europe and 16th globally. Other notable schools include Vatel in Lyon (9th), with campuses in Madrid and Málaga, and Les Roches in Switzerland (4th), which also has a Marbella campus.

📱 Javier García Cuenca, presidente of the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (ITH), acknowledges the 30-year digital transformation in tourism. Internet has enabled 24/7 global business presence and empowered travelers with information and influence, significantly affecting the industry. Technological implementation has improved operational efficiency, reduced costs, and increased adaptability. Innovations like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) enhance competitiveness and customer experience. García Cuenca celebrates the role of media in combating misinformation on Hosteltur's 30th anniversary.