Distribución y Revenue Management

🏅 Paris welcomed 11.2 million visitors during the Olympic Games, a 4% increase from the previous year but just shy of the 11.3 million anticipated. Hotel occupancy reached 84% from July 23 to August 6, up 10.1 points from 2023. Of the visitors, 44.6% were local, 27.7% domestic day-trippers, 12.5% from other French regions, and 15.2% foreigners. Tourists from the USA, Germany, and the UK made up 13.5%, 7.6%, and 6.8% respectively. International arrivals are expected to rise by 7.9% between the Olympics and the upcoming Paralympics from August 28 to September 8.

📡 GDS (Global Distribution System) connects travel agencies with car rentals, airlines, and hotels worldwide in real-time. It allows registered users to check availability and book instantly, such as Business class tickets, convertible car rentals, or capsule hotel rooms. GDS for hotels specifically automates room reservation processes for travel agents. It provides information, rates, and photos of hotel services, boasting about 500,000 points of sale globally. Well-known GDS examples include Amadeus, Sabre, TravelPort, Galileo, and Worldspan. They differ from IDS (Internet Distribution System) used by websites like Expedia or CRS (Central Reservation System) used internally by hotels for managing reservations. GDS offers benefits such as global visibility, new markets access, immediate transactions, real-time information, automated processes, and competitive advantages, essential for any hotel's sales and marketing strategy.

📌 Hoteliers in the Valencian Community, led by Francisco Ribera, President of Agretur and hotel section spokesperson of Ashotur, deny contracting with Ávoris for the 2024/2025 Imserso season. Ávoris claimed to have secured the planning, but Ribera alleges no agreements exist for approximately 50,000 spots in his province, and there's uncertainty over another 100,000 spots in Valencia and Alicante. Ribera accuses Ávoris of misleading media statements regarding the guaranteed spots for the social program.

🏖️ World2Meet (W2M), the travel division of Grupo Iberostar, acquired the incoming travel business of BestDay in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, including transportation companies. BD Experience, part of BestDay acquired by Despegar for $56.5 million in 2020, joins W2M offering ground transport and group travel services with offices in Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, and Punta Cana. The strategic operation in the Caribbean complements W2M's other acquisitions: Viajes Cibeles, Viajes Eroski in 2023, Bytour in 2022, Grupo Azul Marino in 2021, and Viajes Dos in 2020.

🛫 Air Europa, following a failed sale to Iberia resulting in a €50 million compensation, aims to quickly repay its €475 million debt to SEPI. The debt includes a €240 million portion with a rising interest rate, currently at 9% and potentially 11% next year. As of spring 2024, Air Europa has repaid 15% (€95 million) of its loans, including €41 million to SEPI and €25 million to ICO, plus €66 million in interest. The company holds approximately €300 million in cash, boosted by strong 2024 sales.

🏕 In 2023, Eurostat data shows Paris leading with 19.3 million tourist overnight stays in short-term rentals, followed by Rome (12.5 million), Barcelona (10.9 million), Lisbon (10.5 million), and Madrid (9.5 million). The top five account for 8.7% of the EU's 719 million stays booked through Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and TripAdvisor. Spanish cities Málaga, Sevilla, and Valencia are also in the top 20. Benidorm, Benalmádena, and Torremolinos in Spain have the highest tourist-to-local ratio in the EU, with figures like 8.2%.

📍 Tourism companies are meeting deadlines for repaying state bailouts from SEPI. Over €500 million has been received by SEPI, a significant portion from tourism firms. Hotusa announced a €28 million repayment on August 6, totaling €108 million or 44% of their €241 million bailout. Wamos repaid €9.6 million recently, totaling over €17 million of its €85 million aid. Plus Ultra Airlines has returned over €4.9 million in three years, with a €2.4 million contribution in March. Air Europa has repaid 15% of its loans, around €95 million, including €41 million from €475 million SEPI funds and €25 million from €141 million ICO loans, plus €66 million in interest. Ávoris fully repaid its €320 million loan in late 2022. SEPI aims to recover around €2.100 billion, with other companies like Serhs and Volotea on the list.

🏖️ Spain.info, the official Spanish tourism portal managed by Turespaña, offers an interactive map with approximately 16,200 tourism proposals. The map includes 655 destinations, 2,333 art and culture spots, 510 museums, 1,731 monuments, 92 parks and gardens, 180 natural spaces, 3,539 beaches, and various other points of interest and experiences. Additionally, users can book 137 cultural activities, 322 nature experiences, 207 wine and gastronomy experiences, and other activities online. Turespaña plans to integrate artificial intelligence into Spain.info to further assist tourists, with potential new tools being unveiled at the Turespaña Convention in Tenerife from October 1-3, 2024.

🎨 The Telegraph ranks Mallorca and Barcelona as top places in Europe where Brits feel unwelcome. Spanish newspapers continue campaigns suggesting Spaniards are unwelcoming, affecting tourism. Tourists share negative experiences on social media, impacting Spain's image as a travel destination. With abundant choices, dissatisfied tourists can easily switch to destinations like Faro, Maldives, Italy, or Turkey. Tourism in Spain is at risk as emotional experiences shape traveler choices. A protest against German tourists is planned in Mallorca.

🏡 Riu introduces the Elite Club offering exclusive services for premium clients, featuring a dedicated bracelet for access. This premium area includes an exclusive restaurant, beach area, pool, and private lounge. Additional perks include welcome gifts, room aromatherapy, premium drinks across the hotel, high-end liquor dispensers, and a snack-filled minibar. Elite Club services are available at Riu Palace resorts, such as Kukulkan (Cancún), Macao (Punta Cana), Pacifico (Riviera Nayarit), Jamaica (Jamaica), Baja California (Los Cabos), Antillas (Aruba), and Mauritius (Mauritius), with Riu Palace Bavaro being the first family-friendly hotel to offer it.