Distribución y Revenue Management

🏨 Riu chain ended 2023 with a 24% increase in turnover, reaching €3.607 billion, and a global average occupancy of 89%. The company operates 97 hotels in 21 countries, featuring 50,088 rooms and employing 35,808 workers. In 2023, Riu hotels welcomed 6.4 million guests, with a remarkable 38% being repeat customers. Opened its first city hotel in the UK, the Riu Plaza London Victoria, and completed major renovations on four hotels. In 2024, Riu plans to open the Riu Plaza Chicago, its seventh hotel in Jamaica, and two new establishments in Mauritius. Riu also commenced construction on new hotels in Cancun, New York, Thailand, and its second hotel in Dubai. Riu owns 1.1% of TUI Group shares since 2005.

📌 The private sector has warned of issues with the technology platform for the control system, potentially affecting the marketing of Imserso travel trips, starting in some communities on Wednesday, September 25. CEOE, through its Tourism Council, and travel agencies like CEAV, UNAV, and ACAVE have expressed concern over RD 933/2021, which mandates businesses to report reservation data to the Interior. Travel platform Hospedajes, activating on October 1, could slow down agency work, especially for small businesses with limited staff. Over 886,000 Imserso travel packages could be impacted. Interior has not announced a delay as the date approaches.

🏨 Casual Hoteles, from June to August, increased income by 7.2% compared to summer 2023, earning €8.6 million with a 94.8% occupancy rate. RevPAR grew to €111.24, a 6.91% rise over last year's €104.05. International guests accounted for 73.78% of stays, while the Spanish market slightly declined by 0.56%. The top five nationalities were Spaniards, Italians (14.43%, up 9.93%), French (6.85%), British (5.45%), and Americans (5.26%). The hotel chain, with 25 properties (881 rooms) in 13 cities, plans expansions into Ibiza and Naples in 2025.

📍 Play, an Icelandic private airline inheriting a legacy of predecessors' failures, is making a profit and expanding its European routes, including twice-weekly flights to Valencia, Spain, on Tuesdays and Saturdays starting next summer. The airline, which flies to Madrid, Barcelona, and other Spanish destinations, also plans a new route to Porto. With ten single-aisle aircraft, Play connects 40 destinations in Europe and North America, leveraging Iceland's strategic location for transatlantic flights.

🏖️ TikTok's study by FreeSpinsTracker shows top travel destinations based on hashtag views. Seoul leads with over a billion, followed by Paris with over 481 million views and Barcelona in third with 101+ million. Europe has five spots in the top 10, with Amsterdam and Singapore rounding out the top five. Bangkok, Rome, Istanbul, New York, and Tokyo also feature in the list, with views ranging from 34 million to 23.6 million. The study highlights the influence of TikTok on travel decisions.

🏨 Booking.com critiqued for being favored over hotel websites despite hotels' ability to offer lower prices without contractual obligations to the American portal. Travelers often find hotel direct booking prices higher than on Booking.com, except for one major hotel chain promoting direct purchases with slightly better rates. Hotels faulted for not understanding consumer price-searching behavior and not offering the lowest prices on their websites, contrary to the practice of low-cost airlines. 🛎️

🏖 Benidorm, previously holding nearly one in five Imserso program spots, sees a drastic reduction in its hotel offerings for the upcoming season starting September 23, due to hotels refusing contract conditions that don't cover operational costs. Only 16 participating hotels are confirmed—11 three-star and 5 four-star establishments. The number has nearly halved from 28 hotels in 2022/2023 to 20 in the last campaign. Hotels will receive 25 to 26 euros per person per night, well below the desired 34 to 35 euros.

✈ Turkish Airlines launches a new route from Santiago de Chile to Istanbul, starting on December 18, with a stopover in Sao Paulo. This addition means Chile becomes the tenth American country Turkish serves, connecting to its 26th airport in the continent, and further expanding the network for residents traveling to the Far East. The Gulf airlines, specifically Emirates, have also expanded in the region, serving cities like Rio and Buenos Aires.

📡 In the context of hotel accommodation choices, 94% of travelers use metasearch engines to book their stays, making such platforms essential for hoteliers to tap into new markets and increase bookings.

📖 The "Viaja+65" initiative in Valencia offers subsidized stays from October to December for seniors, with accommodation compensation of €35 per person per day, a notable increase over the official Imserso program's €25. Participants can choose from 5-10 night stays at a 40% subsidy, with €100 extra credit for activities. There's a €600 subsidy cap for solo travelers and €900 with a companion. The program begins on October 14, with an initial €1.1 million investment, aiming for 50,000 overnight stays and 7,000-8,000 beneficiaries. By 2025, a €6 million investment is planned to offer 40,000 spots and nearly 300,000 overnight stays.