Gestión Hotelera

💡 On October 18th, a breakdown in Cuba's main thermoelectric power plant led to a nationwide power outage. Hurricane Óscar made landfall in Baracoa, east of Cuba, without causing significant damage. The tourism sector, represented by Seto, expresses concern over unstable phone and internet services. Hotels have relocated tourists to accommodations with generators, though demand is low due to few visitors, exacerbating the country's currency shortage. The French government recommends postponing travel to Cuba, while airlines maintain regular flight schedules.

🏨 On a full moon night, the hotel staff struggled with overbooking as guests flooded in, demanding their reserved rooms. Receptionists, including a two-month new colleague, faced panic with pale faces, dark circles, and messy hair. Amidst flickering lights and a chilling draft, a sealed door opened, revealing a former manager who vanished decades ago on Halloween. He warned of the overbooking curse due to poor management, suggesting that only the right technology could save them. The staff realized their disorganization was the real terror, not witchcraft. The next morning, the hotel director recommended Noray ToBook for reservation management.

💰 Approximately 350,000 immigrants arrive in Spain annually, with about 150,000 finding employment in the tourism and hotel sector. Immigrants, especially those from outside the EU, face challenges such as opening a Spanish IBAN bank account. Money Jar, a digital bank, aids in financial integration by allowing the opening of a Spanish IBAN account even before arrival in Spain. Solutions like these benefit both immigrants and companies by improving talent attraction, retention, and overall employee well-being.

🛫 Ávoris won a public tender to manage Imserso trips, but faces penalties for alleged breaches. For coastal trips (Lot 1), it fulfilled only 54.34% (326,880) of promised plane and train seats, instead of 601,588, leading to 44.81% of pensioners traveling by bus, against the proposed 11%. In interior tourism (Lot 3), it delivered just 30.5% (105,490) of transport seats, versus the promised 345,858. Additionally, Ávoris underdelivered on hotel quality, providing only 3.6 million 4-star stays out of 6.4 million promised, and executed just 2.5% (142,955) of single-use double room stays, despite promising 5.6 million. This resulted in scores of 97.43/100 for Lot 1, 100/100 for Lot 2, and 97.82/100 for Lot 3.

🏨 Top Spanish hotel chains reported €23.094 billion in revenue in 2023 according to the Hosteltur Ranking, surpassing the €19.056 billion from the previous year. Minor Hotels Europe & Americas (formerly NH Hotel Group) remains on the list, although 95.8% owned by Thailand's Minor Hotel Group. RIU Hotels & Resorts, Barceló Hotel Group, and others saw growth between 14% and 24%. Majestic Hotel Group had a 34.35% increase, while Canarian Hospitality saw a 379% surge, reaching €23.5 million in revenue. Room007 Hotels & Hostels increased sales by 103.3%. Only Roc Hotels and Oh!Tels experienced revenue downturns, by -3.04% and -1.05% respectively.

✈️ Aseata and unions CCOO, UGT, and USO reached a last-minute agreement to avert a threatened strike in Spain's airport handling sector. The dispute involved Aviapartner, Menzies, Azul Handling, Swissport, Groundforce, and South, citing repeated breaches of salary guarantees and misclassification of worker pay grades. Issues also included poor shift management and lack of legal rest between shifts. The agreement must be endorsed by the mediation and arbitration system (SIMA).

🏖 Pensioners eyeing the Imserso travel program's 2024-2025 season can enjoy an 8-day trip to Benidorm for €210 with full board. The program, which sold 80% of its spaces upon opening reservations in September, features options like a 10-day stay for €253 and prices between €228-€290 with transportation included. With over 177,250 spots still available, bookings can be made online or through authorized travel agencies, prioritizing users with fewer resources.

💸 Travel agencies and tour operators experienced a significant downturn during spring and summer, with sales falling short of expectations. However, demand surged after the high summer season, a change first reported by Preferente in the second week of September and persisting a month later. The industry is now optimistic, hoping to match or exceed the previous year's figures in the last months of 2023. Despite this, the sector is concerned about the rise of quick loans in tourism, reaching unprecedented levels.

🚩 Boeing, facing an ongoing crisis and a month-long strike, announced a workforce reduction of 10%, laying off 17,000 employees. The cutbacks aim to mitigate a third-quarter financial dive of $5 billion. The Boeing 777X program will also be delayed until at least 2026. Majestic Hotel Group, down to 16 hotels and 971 rooms from 1,093, leads the small hotel chains in Spain with 2023 revenues of €68.25 million, a rise from €50.8 million in 2022. 36 out of 37 Spanish hotel chains reported revenue growth, predominantly in the double digits.

🌍 Iberia resumes flights to Tokyo-Narita Airport from Madrid-Barajas on October 27, 2024, after a four-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, providing over 45,000 seats and the only direct connection between Spain and Japan. Valencia is voted the best European travel destination in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2024 Readers' Choice Awards by over 125,000 readers, surpassing cities like Rome and Berlin. Cebu Pacific Air, a Filipino low-cost airline, acquires 152 Airbus A321neo aircraft for approximately €21.9 billion, marking the largest agreement in Philippine aviation history. The Palacio de Paradinas in Segovia will be transformed into a 5-star hotel next summer. The Imserso's Social Tourism Program launches with over 4,500 users traveling within 48 hours. The tourism sector opposes the new booking data registry imposed by Spain's Interior Ministry, causing concern for business travel. Business travelers in Europe are increasingly opting for tourist apartments over more expensive hotels.