Distribución y Revenue Management

✈ Ryanair cuts 643,000 seats at Spanish airports between March 30 and October 25, affecting airports with under 3 million annual passengers. Santiago Airport loses 334,000 seats (-11.4%), Zaragoza sees a reduction of 113,000 seats (-18.5%), and Santander drops 88,000 seats (-10%). Valladolid and Jerez suspend operations entirely; Valladolid plummets from 154,000 to 60,000 seats, losing Barcelona flights from March 28. Jerez's offer declines by 7% to 700,000 seats, while Asturias faces a smaller cut of 1.8%, or 27,000 fewer seats. Volotea aims to increase its Spanish offer by 9%, covering some gaps left by Ryanair, whose CEO criticizes Aena's tariffs and suggests regional airports be managed by local authorities—a proposal rejected by Aena and the government. Aena introduces incentives for airlines to increase traffic at smaller airports.

🏨 Direct hotel sales mean guests booking through a hotel's own channels, avoiding up to 25% OTA commissions. A target of 40-60% of direct bookings is considered balanced, while some boutique hotels achieve 80%. Strategies include a fast website with a 3-click booking process, exclusive web rates, incentives, and the use of social media, email marketing, chatbots, loyalty programs, SEO, targeted digital ads, and retargeting campaigns to attract guests without third-party fees.

🏖 Cuatro operadores, Mundiplan, Seniorplan, Nautalia (Travel Live), y Ávoris, se preparan para competir en la próxima licitación pública de los viajes del Imserso para la temporada 2025-2026. Ávoris, con una prórroga ya otorgada para 2024-2025, planea vender 900.000 pasajeros y destaca un nivel de satisfacción con los viajes por encima del 90%. La inversión estatal en el subsidio de estos viajes retorna dos o tres euros por cada euro gastado. Los operadores apuntan a mantener su participación en los tres lotes del programa y se enfocan en la satisfacción del cliente senior.

🏖 The interview with tourism consultant Ángel Díaz, published in HOSTELTUR magazine in January 2025, discusses the broader concept of the "visitor economy" which surpasses traditional tourism metrics. Australia, for instance, has quantified contributions from international students—accounting for 9% of total income in 2019—exceeding holiday visitors. Spain's metropolitan areas like Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia, leverage existing tourism infrastructure for various visitor-derived economic activities. The PIMEC Turismo Hub, in partnership with InAtlas, analyzes the economic impact of visitors, beyond standard tourist expenditures, to include the entire value chain. The challenge includes quantifying the substantial yet uncharted economic influence of student visitors. Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress example illustrates how tourism infrastructure can foster a digital industry ecosystem. The visitor economy incorporates long-stay accommodations, medical services, and other niches, indicating a shift towards a more liberal economic approach and the need for public-private collaboration to attract targeted visitor segments.

✈ Vueling boosts operations in Andalucía for summer, increasing seats to 5 million (12.4% rise). Two new planes added at Málaga and Sevilla airports, over 540,000 additional seats, reaching 38 connections across 16 destinations - 10 national, 6 international. Significant growth in routes to Canarias (37.9% increase) and Baleares (18% more flights). International operations surpass 1 million seats, up 11.7% from summer 2024. New direct route from Córdoba to Barcelona starting September 18, with twice-weekly flights.

🏨 Fergus Group, a hotel chain with presence in the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Andalusia, and Catalonia, expects to exceed €200 million in turnover by 2025, a rise from €154 million in 2024, marking a 14% increase from the previous year. Hosteltur's Ranking reveals the most common operating model in Spain's hotel chains is ownership at 43.5%, with franchises growing from 4.5% to 5.5%. Meliá Hotels International leads in management (47.3%) and franchise (17%), while nine Spanish hotel chains dominate the top 15 for brand recognition, with Meliá at 51% and NH Hotels at 49%.

🏡 Ávoris' distribution business lines, including Halcón Viajes, B travel, and BCD, achieved a record Ebitda of €25.3 million in 2024, surpassing the previous high of €21.6 million in 2019. This marks the second consecutive year with a positive balance. Following a merger in 2020 and absorption in December 2022, projections for 2025 anticipate an Ebitda of €37.9 million, an increase of 49.8% from 2024. Halcón Viajes ended 2023 with a profit of €8.3 million after losses in the prior two years, while B travel also earned €8.3 million, recovering from losses of €20.8 million in 2022 and €26.9 million in 2021.

🏨 Of the 273 hotel chains in the Hosteltur Ranking, 131 provided data, accounting for 3,142 establishments—an increase of 137 from the previous year. Ownership stands at 43.5%, a slight decrease from 2023, while rental dropped from 33.5% to 33%. Franchising saw growth from 4.5% to 5.5%. Meliá Hotels International leads in management (47.32%) and franchising (17%), with 92,500 rooms and 355 hotels. Barceló Hotel Group has a balanced portfolio, and Riu Hotels & Resorts predominantly owns its establishments (97%). H10 Hotels, Catalonia Hotels & Resorts, and Hoteles Globales are primarily property-based, while Alda Hotels focuses on rental for their 92 establishments.

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🏨 At FITUR 2025, experts highlighted the future of hospitality focusing on the humanization of service amidst AI, technological transformation for customer experience, and evolving consumption and booking models. Daniel Mayo, CEO of VIVOOD Landscape Hotels, and Diego Sanz Bailén, general manager of Castilla Termal Hoteles, emphasized the importance of personalization and investing in teams. Alberto Martínez Izquierdo (COO of CoolRooms Hotels) and Jorge Álvarez (general manager of Spirit Hotels) stressed integrating technology with sustainability and offering hyper-personalized experiences through AI. Francisco García de Oro (general manager of VP Plaza España Design) noted a shift towards more reflective consumption, while Gonzalo Ruiz Tinas (cluster revenue manager of OD Hotels Ryans) saw a trend of extended booking windows post-COVID. Hoteliers in 2025 are advised to invest in human talent, embrace technology for enhancing guest experiences, and revise revenue and marketing strategies to cater to informed and demanding customers, balancing the digital and human aspects and leveraging sustainability as a competitive edge.