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🏖 Ramón Aragonés, CEO of Minor Hotels Europe & América, was awarded the Hosteltur Personalidad Turística 2024 on December 18. He canceled a €500 million ICO credit swiftly post-pandemic and will retire in January 2025 after over two decades. Spain’s 400,000 touristic accommodations saw a 16% increase from last year; Madrid's supply rose 11.5% in four years, while Barcelona's fell by 43%. Spanish tourism in 2024 is hitting record numbers, offering a chance to shift towards sustainable, competitive tourism.

📝 Mirai's blog in 2024 highlights key topics in the hospitality sector including the impact of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), affecting direct bookings by 0.8% and Google Hotels' share by -33%, favoring OTAs. Other posts cover conversion rates, funnel levels, campaign KPIs, Booking.com's parity removal, investment in marketing versus commissions, strategies for selling extras, important variables in metasearch funnel, demand understanding, and the importance of loyalty programs in increasing database growth and improving conversion.

🏠 By 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) will enable unprecedented travel personalization, potentially unlocking significant revenue in the tourism sector. AI will be strategic for understanding and monetizing each traveler's experience, optimizing incident management and operations, saving billions of euros lost annually to operational issues. Advanced systems will predict and proactively manage resources, enhancing employee performance and customer satisfaction. Data sharing across airlines, hotels, and other providers will create more seamless travel experiences, facilitated by technologies like blockchain. AI will be essential for staff management and revenue optimization, dynamically predicting demand, scheduling, and adjusting pricing. Finally, it will empower employees, offering real-time support, optimizing workflows, and enabling personalized training, thus improving overall performance and talent retention. However, the success of AI integration will hinge on balancing technological innovation with customer privacy and trust.

🎂 Amadeus reports a 4% global increase in hotel occupancy for Christmas and New Year's holidays compared to 2023, with data collected until December 2, 2024. Top destinations include Lihue, Hawaii (93%), and Montego Bay, Jamaica (91%). Europe shows a 13% rise; China, 10%; Latin America, 8%; Asia, 9%; and the Caribbean, 5%. In Spain, Gran Canaria leads with 75% occupancy, up from 62% in 2023, while Valencia drops from 44% to 28%.

🏨 In summer 2024, Spain's high-speed rail traffic hit a record 10.7 million passengers, 24% up from the previous year. Renfe led the market while Iryo and Ouigo made significant gains. Prices dropped by up to 18% on competitive routes, averaging between €30-€52. The Madrid-Málaga/Granada route saw a 25.6% rise; Madrid-Alicante, 23.6%; and Madrid-Sevilla, 21.4%. Media Distancia Convencional grew by 13.4%, while Cercanías fell by 10.9%. Mandarin Oriental plans to manage Paris's Lutetia and Amsterdam's Conservatorium from 2025, enhancing its European luxury tourism footprint. Fitur 2025 will host the Hosteltur Tourism Personality Award, with previous winners including Pablo Piñero and Gabriel Escarrer.

🏡 En España, la licencia de alquiler vacacional varía por comunidad autónoma, esencial para alquilar legalmente inmuebles turísticos. Propietarios deben cumplir con normativas locales y autonómicas, y pueden enfrentar multas hasta 600.000 euros si operan sin licencia. Pasos incluyen Declaración Responsable al ayuntamiento, inscripción en el Registro de Turismo, cumplimiento de requisitos técnicos, y declaración ante Hacienda. Plataformas como Airbnb y Booking requieren esta licencia para listar propiedades.

💸 Black Friday on November 29 saw hotel bookings soar by double digits. Post-Black Friday, hotel reservations plummeted between December 2-8. TravelgateX reported continued declines in some destinations in the following week, December 9-15. Variations in hotel bookings by region included Cataluña (+4.43%), Madrid (+7.59%), and Aragon (+32.87%), while Baleares (-11.04%) and Valencia (-4.56%) saw decreases. A study from UIB suggests Black Friday sales may not always yield the expected effects, noting up to 40% booking spikes but also significant drops before and after, possibly reducing overall bookings.

🏨 Aubamar Hotels tops the Hosteltur 2024 ranking of small Spanish hotel chains with 991 rooms, followed by Majestic Hotel Group (971 rooms) and Axel Hotels (963 rooms), out of 149 chains with 755 hotels and 67,644 rooms, where 97% are in Spain. The sector is growing, driven by high demand and both national and international expansion. Smartrental Group debuts at position 23 with 817 rooms. Sidenor considers withdrawing from the acquisition of a 29.9% stake in Talgo from Trilantic, offering 4 euros per share, while the Polish Development Fund emerges as a potential buyer. Lastly, 88% of travel agencies report inadequate information on the new traveler registration decree, Real Decreto 933/2021, with 54% assigning staff to comply, affecting their commercial capacity, and 63% believe it reduces Spain's competitiveness as a destination.

🎄 During the 2024 Christmas campaign, online travel gifts in Spain accounted for 15% of purchases, with an average spend of €213, marking a 30% increase from the previous year. Electronic products represented 40% and beauty and wellness 18% of online purchases. The online sales overall are expected to grow by 40% compared to 2023. This shift highlights the growing prominence of e-commerce in the tourism and retail sectors.