Distribución y Revenue Management

🇩🇪 David Collado, the Minister of Tourism for the Dominican Republic, highlighted Spain as the top European source of visitors with 251,730 in 2023, and Madrid's airport as the seventh worldwide for funneling 358,313 tourists. Spanish travelers are 52% female, 60% average age of 36, 57% travel for leisure, 51% stay in hotels, and over 50% booked through travel agencies last year. In 2024, 73% of Spanish tourists planned trips 1-7 months in advance. The Dominican Republic aims to attract more Spanish travelers, recently presenting to over 250 Spanish travel operators. The "DO Travel Rewards" loyalty program was launched in August 2023 to incentivize travel agents globally.

✈ Iberia delays its return to Israel until at least February 1, 2025, due to escalating conflicts in the Middle East. The airline, part of IAG, will refund customers or offer vouchers and changes in dates or destinations. Air Europa had also planned to resume flights on October 21 but suspended them until at least November 30 following several days of operations.

📌 Javier Delgado joined Mirai as Co Managing Partner & CEO EMEA in 2021 after seven years at Google Spain as head of travel and three years at Iberostar Hotels & Resorts leading technology and commercial areas. Mirai, established in 1991, began operating in digital hotel distribution in 1995, aiming to connect hotels with early internet users. Mirai was transacting online hotel bookings with credit card payments as early as 1998, predating Google's 1998 founding. With a history spanning three decades, Mirai boasts 4,000 hotel partners across 53 countries, served by over 300 staff across 12 offices. The company focuses on empowering hotels with technology and expertise to optimize profitability and autonomy. Mirai's team, based in Madrid, is described as passionately analytical, combining proprietary technology with a service-oriented approach, differentiating itself by contributing knowledge and solutions to the hotel industry's challenges.

📈 La Asociación Española de Empresas de Consultoría Inmobiliaria (ACI) advierte que la reforma fiscal del gobierno español podría afectar 15,000 millones de euros en operaciones de inversión en el sector desde 2014 y reducir la competitividad del país. La reforma, acordada por PSOE y Sumar, propone eliminar el régimen fiscal especial de las Socimi. La CNMV pide cautela, temiendo impacto en cotizaciones y posible deslocalización de empresas. ACI aboga por mantener el marco fiscal y la seguridad jurídica establecidos desde 2009, mientras Merlin Properties e Inmobiliaria Colonial consideran trasladar su sede y revaluar inversiones tras caídas en Bolsa del 7,3% y 5,03%, respectivamente.

🏨 El marketing hotelero incrementa visibilidad y reservas directas, fortaleciendo la reputación y creando conexiones con huéspedes. Utiliza SEO, branding y marketing digital/conversacional para atraer y fidelizar clientes. Beneficios incluyen mayor visibilidad, posicionamiento de marca, fidelización, control de reputación online y aumento de ingresos. Estrategias efectivas fomentan reservas a través de optimización web, contenido de calidad, ofertas exclusivas y herramientas de IA. Asksuite ofrece integración oficial con WhatsApp y un Agente de Reservas con IA. Artículo actualizado el 14 de noviembre de 2024 por el equipo de marketing de Asksuite.

🏨 Hotelverse and EISI SOFT present EISIVerse, a real-time operational management platform for hotels, on November 20, 2024, at 15:00 Madrid time (09:00 Dominican Republic time). The free webinar, aimed at hotel industry professionals, will showcase the benefits of real-time monitoring, predictive analysis, resource optimization, cost reduction, and improved customer experience. Attendees can register via a provided link.

💸 Booking.com, designated as a "gatekeeper" under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which took effect on November 1, 2022, has eliminated all parity clauses from July 1, 2024, ahead of the DMA's deadline of November 13, 2024. These clauses previously forced hotels to offer the same rates on Booking.com as on other sales channels. Booking partners with approximately 200,000 hotels and accommodations in Spain. Compliance with the DMA allows hotels to set competitive prices on different sales channels, including their own websites, potentially reducing reliance on intermediary platforms. Booking has also introduced a data portability API, improved data access for partners, and controls over personal data flows, aligning with DMA requirements.

📍 Ávoris entered air consolidation in 2022 with Geoclick (Geomoon), then acquired Travelgea Tours (July 2023) and Vista Travel (March 2024). The conglomerate, led by Juan Carlos González, now launches Welcomefly to centralize air consolidation activities. Welcomefly features a new website (b2b.welcomefly.com), multi-GDS service (Amadeus, Travelport), NDC direct connection with 15 airlines, low-cost content, and exclusive groups department. The move aims to streamline processes and retain sales within Ávoris' group, integrating Globalia's brands and other acquisitions.

🏨 Hotel bookings between November 4 and 11 see nearly a quarter made over 90 days in advance and about 15% the day before travel, per TravelgateX. Cataluña is the most booked region, while País Vasco and Castilla y León soar above 50% growth. Year-on-year, País Vasco, Cataluña, Islas Baleares, and Castilla y León bookings rise in double digits, with others declining. Couples dominate bookings with 48.3%, while Spanish travelers lead over half, followed by the UK and China with significant increases.

✈ Iberia has reached an all-time high with Airbus A350 flights from Barajas Airport to North and South America in 2024, averaging 22 aircraft over nine months, an increase from 17 in the same period of 2023. The airline's fleet also includes about 20 A330s, previously the main model until surpassed by the A350. An additional A350 has been added to the fleet, with another purchase option for delivery in 2026. The first of eight A321XLR has been received, offering 30% savings per passenger on routes to Boston and Washington. Iberia's capacity has surged, with a 15.5% increase in available seat-kilometers (ASK) and occupancy rates rising from 89.4% to 90.3% in the first three quarters of 2024.