Top News

🏨 🏨 Javier Sancho, CCO at ACHM Hotels by Marriott, manages 75 hotels with over 8,000 rooms. ACHM, a joint venture created in 2011 by Antonio Catalán and Marriott, is more than the AC brand, encompassing seven Marriott brands, including JW Marriott in Madrid and Westin Cuzco. Sancho's career spans over 30 years, including international roles at Accor and Hilton. Drawing on his psychology background, he leads with empathy and aims for human-centric management. ACHM Hotels aims to double its portfolio in the next five years, with nearly 25 projects already slated for completion between 2025 and 2027.

🍴 The Asociación Empresarial Hotelera de Madrid joined CEHAT and Hostelería de España in requesting a clearer food waste prevention law from the government, following its approval without details on March 20. The new law imposes measures like mandatory food excess donations by hospitality establishments. The sector, with over 350,000 businesses (90% being SMEs), awaits regulations impacting their daily operations and legal responsibilities. Essential amendment proposals include flexible priority hierarchy, relaxed donation agreements, limited traceability, exoneration post-donation, and gradual sanctions. So far, no clear political response has been received.

📈 Mirai's analysis shows Spain's Easter Week 2025 witnessed a significant growth in tourism, with a 26% increase in nights sold for coastal areas and a 47% surge for the islands compared to the previous year. France (+109%), the UK (+43%), and the USA (+28%) propelled international tourism. Notable rises in nights sold include Mallorca (+94%), Gran Canaria (+55%), and San Sebastián (+39%). The average daily rate (ADR) climbed by 8%, with Costa del Sol and Fuerteventura leading at +26%. Reservation anticipation grew, especially for Mallorca and Costa Barcelona (+28%). The analysis examined stays from April 11 to April 23, 2025, compared to March 22 to April 3, 2024, and reservation periods from January 1, 2024, to April 3, 2025, versus December 12, 2022, to March 14, 2024.

📦 Published on April 6, 2025, Jeroham Pérez's article in "deHoteles" category discusses the role of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the hotel industry. CRM, a strategy for managing customer relationships, uses technology to collect, analyze, and organize customer data throughout their lifecycle, aiming to enhance loyalty and experiences. For hotels, it means personalized services, anticipating customer needs, and offering exceptional experiences. CRM centralizes customer information, streamlining operations, automating tasks like sending confirmations, and enabling targeted marketing campaigns. The integration of CRM with systems like PMS, channel managers, and marketing automation platforms fosters operational efficiency and improved customer experiences. It also aids supplier management, ensuring smooth operations and cost optimization. A case study shows a medium-sized hotel adopting Noray CRM improved customer satisfaction, personalized services, automated campaigns, reduced operational costs, and positioned itself as a local quality and efficiency benchmark after six months. In conclusion, a CRM like Noray CRM is crucial for hotels to remain competitive by offering personalized guest experiences and efficient supplier management.

🏕 Over 10 million travelers and nearly 50 million overnight stays are expected in campings by 2024. The Spanish Federation of Campings (FEEC) notes that out of over 1,000 establishments in Spain, about 50 are small, family-run campings, catering to loyal customers with personalized service. The FEEC has selected 32 of these establishments across 11 of Spain's 17 communities. The upcoming Easter holiday is seen as an ideal time for such getaways, aligning with the slow tourism trend. Studies highlight outdoor time reduces stress, enhancing mental and physical health. Sleep tourism is gaining attention as the Spanish Neurology Society reports 48% of Spaniards have poor sleep quality, and Pitchup.com saw a 55% increase in sleep-related likes in customer reviews compared to 2023.

🏖 SiteMinder reports Spain as the European leader in hotel bookings for Easter 2025, with a 7.97% increase in daily average rates from €226.53 to €244.59 and a 24.4% growth in booking volume. 70% of Easter travelers to Spain are international, a rise from 54% in 2024, with reservations made 10 days earlier on average. Compared to other European countries, Spain's daily rate growth is second only to Portugal's 13.7%. Despite increased bookings, the average stay duration globally has dropped by 3.43%, with Spain seeing a slighter decrease of 1.17% from 2.54 to 2.51 days. Planning ahead is trending, with travelers booking 96 days in advance in 2025, a 9.63% increase from 2024. For Spain's May holiday, while daily rates are up 13.57% and booking lead time has increased by 4.16%, reservations have fallen by 3.18%, and stay duration is expected to decrease by 3.51%.

🏕️ Sojern forecasts a tourism boom in Spain for Easter with hotel bookings up 16% from last year and a strong demand from Europe, increasing by 17%. Easter 2025 is expected to witness longer stays with 37% of international bookings for over two weeks and 38% for one to two weeks. Aragon, Balearic Islands, Basque Country, and Asturias see flight search increases of 50%, 40%, 50%, and 25%, respectively. Domestic hotel bookings within Spain also rose by 16%, particularly before Easter weekend (April 16-19).

🔔 Grupo Hotusa, led by Amancio López, has repaid €128.5 million to SEPI's Fondo de Apoyo a la Solvencia de Empresas Estratégicas (FASEE), including a recent €20.5 million plus interest. In 2021, SEPI injected €241 million into Grupo Hotusa due to the Covid-19 impact. In 2023, €52 million was returned, and €56 million in March and August 2024, leaving €112.5 million outstanding. FASEE's total recovery is now €745 million, 27.7% of €2.681 billion financed to 24 companies, including airlines and various industries.

💻 José María Ramón Cardona, an Ibiza native with a background in hospitality, holds a degree in Computer Science from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a master's in Telematic Networks from Institut Català de Tecnología. Over 20 years ago, he founded Neobookings to improve hotel management. The company has become a strategic partner for hotels in Spain and Latin America, enhancing their digitization and direct sales. Neobookings originated from the need for better sales solutions in the pre-digital era dominated by slow, manual processes and intermediaries. The company focuses on user experience, enabling reservations to be made in under a minute and payment processes to be straightforward and clear. The Neobookings team is known for its personalized service, real industry knowledge, and a close relationship with clients. They address common hotel issues such as lack of strategy, overreliance on OTAs, manual systems, and inefficient payment processes. Neobookings prides itself on cases like Vibra Hotels and Rafa Nadal Academy, where they've developed comprehensive digital ecosystems and customized booking engines. Their marketing strategies include optimizing visibility on metasearch engines with a focus on conversion. The company is excited about its unique payment system and a new Call Center module that integrates real-time needs of the client and the service representative, with a fully automated payment process. Neobookings advocates for continued digital evolution in the hospitality industry to enhance efficiency and direct sales.

🏨 Meliá Hotels International's CEO Gabriel Escarrer reports a 7.08% absenteeism rate globally in 2024 with 299,776 lost days and 2,312,240 hours, up from 6.50% previously. Spain's absenteeism hits 10.5%, notably 17.8% in Canarias (967,651 hours lost) and 6.19% in Baleares (372,564 hours lost). Mental health issues are now the third-highest cause of absenteeism, particularly among those aged 30-45. Meliá aims to reduce absenteeism with 12 campaigns on health and a 24/7 emotional support plan in 2025.