Gestión Hotelera

🍴 Aitor Arregi of Elkano fame opened Guethary, a fish and seafood grill restaurant, at the 5-star Iberostar Selection Playa de Palma in Mallorca. Emphasizing local produce and direct relationships with fishermen and artisans, the restaurant honors Mallorcan culinary landscapes with a philosophy rooted in minimalism and seasonal freshness. Elkano began in 1964, currently ranked 22nd on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, holds 1 Michelin Star and 3 Repsol Suns. Guethary also showcases characteristic dishes from Elkano, based in Getaria, latitude 43.2.

🛏 Los amenities para hoteles son artículos o servicios gratuitos para los huéspedes. Los más comunes incluyen champú, acondicionador, jabón, kits de aseo, y más lujosos como albornoces y pantuflas. Los amenities varían según la categoría del hotel y pueden ser claves para que los huéspedes regresen, como acceso a internet de alta velocidad o servicios de té y café en la habitación, diferenciando al hotel de la competencia. Las opciones pueden incluir también pensamientos para niños y mascotas, y son especialmente valiosos en hoteles de cuatro y cinco estrellas.

💸 Jordi Sastre, founder of RD Optimize, boasts a rich background with Barceló Hotels & Resorts, PortBlue Hotels, Logitravel, and Baleària. Partnering with Xim Busquets, they offer specialized hotel industry services addressing the need for revenue management, digital marketing, and direct sales. RD Optimize positions hotels competitively by integrating with clients' teams, managing revenue, focusing on direct sales, and offering flexible economic models. They aim to maximize commercial revenue and control distribution through a 360° online commercialization service, emphasizing direct sales growth for efficiency and higher net ADR.

🌊 CEO of Nautalia Viajes, Rafael García Garrido, criticizes the Spanish retail sector's focus on discounts over margins, highlighting the issue in an interview with Preferente. Nautalia diverges from price wars, adopting a 4-5 year strategy prioritizing service value and margin over discounts, despite industry pressure. Their approach focuses on building customer trust and credibility rather than competing on price.

🏝 Barcelona hoteliers are trying to prevent the closure of 735 tourist apartments they own across 46 buildings due to a city council decision, led by Mayor Jaume Collboni, to shut them down within five years. Hoteliers, represented by president Jordi Clos, argue that their apartments do not cause cohabitation issues, challenging the council's measure that targets entire buildings.

🏠 Ona Hotels & Apartments in 2023 increased its turnover by 36% due to market improvement post-Covid and the addition of eight new establishments. Mallorca saw up to a 30% growth, while the Canary Islands grew by 25% in Q1 compared to 2023. The chain, celebrating its 30th year, aims to surpass €100 million in turnover and expand to 50 hotels. Currently, it has 43 hotels, with 29 owned, and recently acquired Ona Princesa Playa and Ona Las Rampas. The growth focus remains on Spain's main tourist destinations and investment for hotel improvements is planned.

🐶 Meliá Hotels International launched "Pet Friendly by Meliá," allowing unlimited pet weight and increasing the number of pets allowed per room to two. Over 2,000 companion animals have been welcomed since the program's inception. Exclusive areas, pet-inclusive dining, welcome gifts, comfortable beds, and an online guide with pet-friendly services are provided. Partnered with Patasbox, they offer organic pet products. Service costs start from 25 euros per day, included in the final room rate on Melia.com. The program is available across various Meliá brands, with plans to expand.

🏖️ The Spanish Hotel Managers Association (AEDH) stresses the importance of tourism, contributing 14% directly and 19% indirectly to Spain's GDP, and calls for work tables for the tourism sector to address the rejection of tourism and promote the country's economic driver. Spain's tourism sector now enjoys a temporary employment rate of 7.9%, down from 37.9% two years ago, with 91.4% of contracts being permanent and over 45% full-time. Challenges include over-tourism, mismanaged off-season strategies, and the neglect of inland tourism over coastal tourism.

🚩 Barcelona witnessed a small-scale protest of approximately 2,800 people against tourism overcrowding on Saturday, July 6, which gained global attention. Protesters showed uncharacteristic aggressiveness by sealing off restaurants and hotels, squirting water at tourists, and shouting insults. International media from Germany, the UK, France, and the US reported extensively, with The New York Times advising readers against traveling to Barcelona this summer, highlighting residents' anger over housing shortages, overcrowding, and high living costs. A growing anti-tourism sentiment is noted across Spain, with increased graffiti and protests against unsustainable mass tourism.

🏨 Meliá Isla Canela, opened over a decade ago, reopens after renovations, anticipating an extraordinary season for the Andalusian coast, especially in Isla Canela. The hotel, dating back to 2000 and previously renovated in 2013, offers 358 rooms and is surrounded by over 10,000 square meters of native gardens. The refurbishment reinforces Saint Croix of Grupo Pryconsa and Meliá Hotels International's commitment to responsible tourism in Huelva province.