Distribución y Revenue Management

🏨 Mexico leads in Spanish chain presence with 50,000 rooms across 125 hotels. The Dominican Republic follows with 36,000+ rooms in 75 properties, and Cuba with over 27,000. In the US, Barceló owns 100% of Crestline, operating 126 of 139 properties, totaling 17,718 rooms (82% of Spanish chains in the US). German hotels have 19,356 rooms (102 hotels), Italy 13,349 (59 hotels), and Portugal 11,044 (99 hotels). Jamaica (17 hotels) and Morocco (27 hotels) round out the top 10, with Riu, Barceló, and Iberostar leading in these countries.

🛫 Ryanair announced on January 16 a cut of 800,000 seats in regional airports in Spain, which are already underused at 36% capacity with 14.2 million passengers last year versus their 40 million capacity. Some airports like Vitoria, Valladolid, Gerona, and Zaragoza may drop to 0-8% capacity in the summer season. Ryanair demands lower fees from Aena, with current relations strained and no agreement in sight.

🏖️ In July 2004, Leonel Fernández, future President of the Dominican Republic, met with Spanish tourism leaders and Dominican business elites at Meliá Victoria. Investors prepared a list of topics for their meeting with Fernández's team, which would soon lead several ministries. Abel Matutes was named spokesperson, proposed by Simón Pedro Barceló. A disagreement occurred over a national park construction promise by Fernández's predecessor. The president-elect requested a white paper on tourism, which was initially considered by an expensive American consultancy but ultimately completed by Antonio Munar for significantly less cost. The same consultancy had previously delivered a poorly received report at Fitur for a Dominican bank. The incident highlighted skepticism about the accuracy of reports by major consultancies regarding the tourism sector.

🏨 FITUR 2025, held on January 27 at IFEMA Madrid, closed with over 255,000 attendees, including 155,000 professionals and participation from 9,500 companies across 156 countries in 884 stands. With Brazil as the partner country, the event reflected the sector's recovery, noting 1.4 billion global tourist arrivals in 2024 and Spain's 94 million visitors generating €126 billion. The next edition will feature Mexico as the partner country, scheduled for January 21-25, 2026. 🌍

🛫 In Spain's travel sector, competition to recruit independent agencies has intensified post-pandemic, with some companies engaging in "disloyal" practices like fee reductions and spreading false information about rivals. This aggressive behavior aims to expand networks for better negotiation power with suppliers and potentially increase sale prices, as agency numbers can determine a company's value. Despite these efforts, industry experts note the strong loyalty among independent travel agencies, resulting in minimal shifts between management groups.

💸 In December, Germany led in European early bookings with 34.4% of reservations managed by Affilired. France and the UK followed with 28.6% and 23.9%, respectively. German tourists increased their travel budgets by 40% year-on-year, compared to 33.1% in Spain, 25.04% in the UK, 17.23% in France, and 2.72% in Italy.

💸 American Airlines experienced a 7.5% drop in stock value after announcing poor financial results, underperforming compared to competitors United and Delta. The airline forecasts a loss of up to $0.40 per share in the first quarter, with potential additional losses if fuel prices rise. The primary reasons for losses include salary agreements and reduced supply. Contrary to competitors, American's strategy to bypass agencies for direct customer sales has led to client and revenue loss. Despite skepticism from the market, CEO Robert Isom remains optimistic about a turnaround by 2025.

🏨 Hotel stays in Spain hit 363.6 million in 2024, up 4.9% from 2023. Resident stays grew by 0.2% and non-resident stays by 7.5%. Andalusia, Catalonia, and the Valencian Community were the top destinations for Spanish residents, while Canaries, with a 5.0% increase in foreign stays, was the top for non-residents. Mallorca led with 49.5 million stays. Average hotel occupancy reached 61.4%, up 2.2% from 2023. UK and German travelers accounted for 42.6% of international stays. Hotel Price Index rose 7.0%, while average daily rate (ADR) hit €121.5 and revenue per available room (RevPAR) €84.6 in 2024.

🎰 Halcón Viajes offers a promotion until January 31, 2025, allowing customers to use non-winning lottery tickets as travel discounts. Up to three tickets can be redeemed for a 20 euro discount each, totaling a maximum of 60 euros off on bookings over 1,000 euros. Bookings must be made by May 31, 2025, for travel any time of the year.

🌍 Chinese airlines are increasing operations at Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas Airport aiming to make it a key gateway to Europe and a strategic bridge to Latin America. Flights between China and Madrid grew by 73%, reaching 3,538 in 2024, with five major airlines serving routes. Air China runs 12 weekly frequencies to Madrid, three connecting to São Paulo. Air Europa signed a codeshare agreement with Hainan Airlines. Chinese tourist numbers rose by 78% to 192,268 between January and November 2024, spending an average of 2,951 euros each.