Gestión Hotelera

🏖️ La Comunidad de Madrid lanzó Rutas Culturales para mayores de 55 años, con más de 1.400 salidas nacionales e internacionales. Reservas desde el 10 de marzo en 694 agencias. Programa de abril 2023 a marzo 2026 incluye 178 escapadas, 184 rutas nacionales, 61 viajes a Baleares y Canarias, 37 a Portugal, 450 circuitos internacionales, 240 grandes viajes, 68 ciudades, 73 circuitos exprés, 69 cruceros y 53 mercadillos navideños. Nuevos destinos incluyen Apulia, Calabria, Gambia, Corea del Sur, Castillos de Jaén, y las islas Cíes. Precios desde 350 euros hasta 1.995 euros.

🎧 María de Diego, Rooms Division Manager/Operations Director/Event Manager and Owner of Time 4 Events, discussed employee well-being and team-building strategies. The interview is accessible on LinkedIn, YouTube, and various podcast platforms. Relevant links are available on the niikiis.com blog.

🔔 A study by Hospitality Technology shows that 78% of hotels using integrated management systems can cut operational costs by at least 20%. Hotel management systems automate tasks like booking and inventory management, reducing staffing needs and errors. Tools like Hotelgest set low inventory alerts, optimize resource use, and generate detailed consumption reports. They also integrate with energy control systems to reduce energy consumption across hotel rooms and common areas, further cutting costs. Hotelgest enhances staff productivity, minimizes the need for overtime, and helps make data-driven decisions. It's adaptable for all hotel sizes and offers centralized reservation management, real-time inventory control, and OTA integration.

🏖 Jaime Martínez Llabrés, mayor of Palma, announced at ITB Berlin 2025 a plan to reposition Playa de Palma as a leading destination. From 2025 to 2026, €21 million will be invested in services and infrastructure, with improvements to accommodation, dining, and leisure offerings. The action plan focuses on sustainability, environmental integration, mobility, with a security plan operational this season. Palma's government seeks a Commissioner for the Rehabilitation of Mature Tourist Areas to expedite investments and excellence.

🏨 The American hotel group plans to open a five-star establishment under the Kimpton brand, owned by El Corte Inglés, situated at Calle Goya in Madrid's upscale commercial area. The building at the corner of Goya and Conde de Peñalver gained its hotel license in May 2022 after municipal approval to merge two plots into one. The hotel transformation will involve properties at Goya, 89 and Conde de Peñalver, 3, within Salamanca district's Plan Especial de Hospedaje (PEH) zone 2. The future hotel will feature around 110 rooms, pools, a gym, and maintain commercial tertiary use on the ground and first floors. Due to level 3 protection status, facades, portals, and interior staircases must be restored.

🚃 Ouigo to launch high-speed train tickets sale on March 6 at 12:00, offering 20 daily connections between Madrid, Valladolid, Valencia, Alicante, Albacete, Murcia, and Elche. Four round trips between Madrid-Valencia, two Madrid-Alicante (via Albacete), two Madrid-Murcia (via Albacete and Elche), one daily Valladolid-Valencia and Valladolid-Alicante (via Cuenca, Segovia, Madrid). Tickets from €9 for travel between June 30 and September 14, with special rates for children: €7 (ages 4-13), free for under 3.

🏠 Canary Island tourism suffers due to high absenteeism, significantly impacting the hotel industry. Employers respond by creating anonymous tip boxes to report unjustified absences, replacing labor inspectors. The regional absenteeism rate has soared to 80%, compared with the national increase of 50%. This absenteeism affects 8.1% of the Canary Islands' economic activity and costs €2.4 billion annually. Employers criticize public healthcare and inadequate controls while unions blame poor investment in occupational health and lack of worker training.

🏠 In a Yougov poll, only 26% supported implementing tourist taxes as a solution to tourism impacts. Cataluña will double its tourist tax to a maximum of €12.1 per night, with some of these funds designated for housing policies. Barcelona's PEUAT aims to manage tourist accommodations for urban sustainability and quality of life. Spain's tourist taxes are only applied in Cataluña and Baleares, where hotel industry associations oppose the tax, arguing for better resource management instead of new taxes.

🚢 María del Mar Pérez, director at the Port of Barcelona, reported over 2.5 million passenger movements in the port, with 56% staying in the city pre- or post-cruise, impacting local hotels, restaurants, and tourist services. The port is undergoing a project for dock electrification. The Wanderlust team confirmed a second Barcelona edition for 2026 and editions in other Spanish coastal cities. Beatriz Orejudo highlighted consignees' role in cruise services. Ignacio Erroz revealed 400 new yachts are built annually, half exceeding 30 meters in length, up from 42% in 2000 to 49% in 2023.

🏨 CEHAT, the Spanish hotel association, faces leadership challenges and insufficient results in defending industry interests. The government disregards both the top hotel guild and various lobbies. Upcoming months will see repeated tourism sector issues—congestion, competition, labor force. Jorge Marichal, CEHAT's president, criticized for ineffective strategies and focusing on sponsorship for meetings. Hoteliers urged to respect themselves and not endorse contradictory sponsors like Tripadvisor. Lobbies warned of members supporting government views.