Distribución y Revenue Management

💸 Black Friday 2024 is set for November 29, with consumers expected to spend more on travel deals. Affilired's data shows an 8% year-on-year increase in average spend per booking, reaching €1,043 last year. The 2023 campaign sales surpassed pre-pandemic figures of 2019, with the average booking value up by 28%. Early bookings during Black Friday accounted for 35% of sales, doubling the 17% from the previous ten months. Cyber Monday and Cyber Week further extend travel sales, with average bookings costing €872 and €790, respectively.

🏠 Isabel Díaz Ayuso, President of the Madrid Regional Government, launched a new tourism campaign on World Tourism Day, aiming to promote Madrid's World Heritage brand. The campaign, with the slogan "How many days are you going to stay?", will run for three months, involving print articles, travel websites, billboards, and buses across Spain's main cities. Madrid hosted over 1.9 million tourists outside the capital in the first seven months of the year, a 2.7% increase from 2023, nearly 22% of the region's total visitors, with 25% being international. Madrid expects a record international tourism expenditure of over €16 billion, surpassing €20 billion when including domestic visitors.

💸 AskFlow, a new product by Asksuite, automates messaging and boosts hotel revenue allowing teams to focus on income-generating activities. It sends personalized messages across various channels like WhatsApp, with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. Rodrigo Teixeira, CEO of Asksuite, states AskFlow integrates with any hotel software, including PMS, to create customized communication flows. Current users are seeing an average ROI of 71 times, with benefits like increased sales, time savings, and higher revenue through hotel service promotions. Vinícius Pavei, CTO of Asksuite, describes AskFlow as plug-and-play, offering preconfigured templates for easy implementation. Suitable for all hotel types, AskFlow is revolutionizing hotel communication and efficiency.

💸 Sun Bay Hotel, using Asksuite's product AskFlow, achieved an ROI of 87 times with automated follow-ups for abandoned carts. Implementation of AskFlow, which automates messages 24/7 across all communication channels including WhatsApp, resulted in a 47% response rate to automated messages from potential guests. Sun Bay, located in Pipa, Rio Grande do Norte, overcame the challenge of managing after-hours booking follow-ups, enhancing guest experience and operational efficiency.

🏦 Over 300 candidates worldwide vie for the role of hotel director at Hilton's soon-to-be-managed Palacio Godoy in Cáceres. Hiring for 50 positions, Hilton's website listed all job offers for the luxury hotel set to open in late 2024, currently in its final remodeling phase since early 2023. Financed with a €13 million investment by Scipion Perú, the 1563-built property will feature 72 rooms, a spa, and a public-access restaurant within a nearly 1,000-square-meter garden. Initial archaeological exploration concluded without significant historical findings, paving the way for new infrastructure.

🏖️ National tourists accounted for only 37% of arrivals and 26% of overnight stays on the Costa del Sol in the first eight months, with a 4.7% drop to 1.64 million Spanish tourists, losing ground to foreign visitors. In contrast, international tourists increased by 7.7%, with 2.77 million visitors and 11.41 million overnight stays. Overall, Spain's overnight stays in August reached 47.8 million, with 17.3 million by Spaniards (-1.3% vs 2023) and 30.6 million by foreigners (+4.9%). High prices may deter Spanish travel, with Marbella averaging €331.8 and Estepona €231.2 per night.

📅 Turismo Social (Ávoris) corrected previous issues in the Imserso tourism program for the 2024/2025 season, launching with the promised 886,269 spots. Sales began on September 23 for privileged clients in various Spanish regions and expanded on September 24. Asturias, Cataluña, and other regions follow on September 25-26. Reservations can be made online or at 8,893 authorized travel agencies. Four million accredited pensioners have access to three travel packages: 443,887 coastal spots, 230,039 insular, and 212,343 inland.

🏦 KKH Property Investors is set to transform the old Altadis Tobacco Factory in Sevilla into the Vera Sevilla complex, a luxury hotel and office project, with a €250 million investment. Completion is targeted for autumn 2026, featuring over 12,000 sqm of multifunctional space, a 300-meter riverside walk, and a five-hectare urban park. The Imserso travel program started reservations on September 23, offering stays at 203 hotels, a 5% increase. A new traveler registration deadline by the Ministry of Interior is extended to December 2, due to technical reasons for data transmission with regional police forces.

🚩 Hotel early bookings in Spain surged from 11% to nearly 20% year-over-year due to the conflict in the Middle East. Following the Hamás attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, early bookings at 90 days increased notably. By late August, bookings were 12%; by early September, they rose to 16%, hitting 18% mid-September and 19% by the third week. Growth in hotel reservations by destination showed increases across Spain, with País Vasco leading at +15.41%, and Aragón down by -4.99%.

🚀 Javier Hidalgo, former CEO of Globalia, stated on record he doesn't recall his actions on July 16, referencing meetings with Begoña Gómez, spouse of Pedro Sánchez, on June 24 and July 16. These meetings occurred at Globalia's Pozuelo de Alarcón headquarters. Subsequently, the government approved a €475 million bailout for Air Europa. Hidalgo admitted focusing on Globalia's €6 million daily losses rather than on cargo flights for the 'caso Koldo' mask acquisition, negotiated by Aldama who had signed two contracts with Globalia since 2018.