Gestión Hotelera

🏨 a&o Hostels celebrates its 25th anniversary by becoming the first global hostel chain to obtain ISO 9001 certification. The quality management system certification was awarded by TÜV Rheinland Cert GmbH after an audit covering all departments, including 37 locations and the Berlin headquarters. The certificate emphasizes the brand's international competitiveness and trust, marking a commitment to a more responsible tourism industry. Future plans include annual internal audits, three-yearly recertifications, and evaluations for new locations, replacing a previous TÜV-certified service quality certification. ISO 9001 ensures consistent, high-quality guest experiences and continual improvements within hotel operations.

🏆 PortAventura World's ~3,500 employees to strike on May 1-2 after an assembly decision; first strike saw 80% participation. Despite the strike, the park operated normally, with main attractions active. The resort's hotels were nearly full, and the company stopped selling tickets and accepting new bookings due to uncertainties. The strike followed failed negotiations for a fair agreement and was reported to involve employees performing tasks without proper qualifications, although the park operated with qualified staff and maintained safety standards.

💬 5,000 individuals protested in Tenerife's tourist area during a two-day hotel and catering sector strike, while 400 Port Aventura employees in Salou joined a UGT and CCOO-led strike from 8 a.m. Saturday. In Tarragona, 80% of the staff participated, halting ticket sales for the first time in 30 years. The Santa Cruz de Tenerife tourism sector strike, with about 70% participation according to unions and 10% according to Ashotel, demands wage increases to maintain purchasing power. PortAventura, managed by Fernando Aldecoa, faces stalled collective agreement negotiations since December 2024, with 65% of workers earning minimum wage and most on temporary 5-9 month contracts.

🏖️ The Imserso tourism program for seniors reported 343 hotels participated in the 2023/2024 season, a 23.8% increase from 277 in 2022/2023, and a notable rise from 250 post-pandemic (2021/2022) and 303 pre-Covid (2018/2019). As of January, the current season had 227 hotels, with numbers expected to rise in spring, the peak travel period for Imserso.

🍴 Munich Airport, ranked among the top ten airports globally, pioneers by hosting the first Michelin-starred restaurant on its premises. The Mountain Hub Gourmet, located at the Hilton Munich Airport, earned its Michelin star in the 2024 edition of the guide. Led by chef Marcel Tauschek, the restaurant specializes in Alpine cuisine, with reservations required for both lunch and dinner, enhancing the airport's reputation for quality and sophistication.

🛫 Imserso is addressing the decline in the quality of its tourism program by hiring a company to monitor contract execution and enhancing penalty measures for the 2025/2026 season. The state agency aims to rectify administrative malfunctions, prevent irregularities, and improve quality indicators. Users will evaluate the program, with results shared with unions and business organizations. Imserso emphasizes the need to continue bolstering human resources and committing to high-quality public service.

💸 Nuria Montes, secretary general of Hosbec, reported that absenteeism in the Valencian Community's hotel sector reached 7.5% in 2024, surpassing the hospitality industry average of 6.3%. Factors contributing include workforce aging, a new system for reporting sick leave, mental health issues, and salary supplements in collective agreements. This figure has risen sharply from 5.25% in 2019, and is above the average for all economic activities. Randstad's March 2025 report on the hospitality labor market provides these insights. The trend shows a constant rise in absenteeism since 2019, with numbers comparable to 2020, the pandemic year. Montes calls for healthcare reforms to improve recovery times for sick workers and to monitor false sick leaves.

💰 A Galician restaurant in San Cibrao das Viñas stirred controversy by offering a waiter job at €5/hour for full-time afternoon work, Monday to Saturday. Criticized for being below Spain's minimum wage, the position, with immediate start and no experience required, attracted at least ten candidates, highlighting the desperate need for income among job seekers. The job includes an unspecified "extra" and requires six-day availability; details on contracts or additional conditions were not mentioned.

🏡 Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight) acquired The Hotels Network, a marketing personalization technology firm for the hospitality industry. The merger integrates Lighthouse's business intelligence platform with AI-driven marketing technology. The Hotels Network, founded in 2015, serves over 20,000 hotels in 100+ countries, with clients like Minor Hotels and Preferred Hotels & Resorts, boasting a 32% average increase in direct bookings. The combined tech aims to transform market intelligence into personalized booking experiences, enhancing direct channel revenue for hotels.

🏕 Hotel Cap Negret, opened in 1975 by a group of friends with no prior hospitality experience, celebrates its 50th anniversary. Located in Costa Blanca, it thrived after Alicante's airport opened to international traffic in 1967. Under General Director Ricardo Sánchez since 2021, it became a cycling tourism reference, featuring a Bike Zone with capacity for over 450 bikes and maintaining 90% winter occupancy. The hotel employs a stable workforce of 110+ even in low season and is the first in Spain with 'Bike Territory' certification.