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🔔 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.

🌍 Millennials and Gen Z in Spain take an average of 2.8 trips annually, allocating a budget of €683, a 6.1% increase from previous years. 57% of travelers use digital platforms for inspiration, with Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook as top sources. Gen Z prefers TikTok and Snapchat for discovering new destinations. The "Gen GenAI" travelers demand personalized services and real-time information, leaning on artificial intelligence. Travel trends include sustainable tourism, "tour tourism," and bleisure trips. The tourism industry is advised to focus on sustainability, personalization, and technology to meet the expectations of future travelers.

🏖 Imserso is reforming its senior tourism program to halt degradation and ensure compliance, following issues with Turismo Social (Ávoris) over the last two years. The reforms, to be detailed in the upcoming tender specifications, include stricter penalties for non-compliance and increased funding for service quality improvements. Hotels in the program must now be at least three-star and offer leisure activities, alongside producing informative brochures on active aging and elder abuse prevention. Additionally, the travel management companies must evenly distribute 36% of each lot's places monthly throughout the campaign.

💻 Founded in 1995, Diurnus has over 30 years of experience in travel agency management systems. On April 3, 2025, Beroni, established in 1987, acquired Diurnus, enhancing its position in Catalonia’s technology sector specialized in travel agencies and destinations. Post-acquisition, Beroni's catalog includes over 70 tech solutions across 5 lines, with products like Wasabi-s (used by 900+ agencies), and plans to allocate 8% of annual turnover to innovation and R&D. The acquisition marks a strategic phase for Beroni's 2025-2027 plan, focusing on innovation, technology, and customer service.

🏨 Spanish hoteliers experienced a surge in Easter bookings as soon as the rain stopped, with tourism growth stabilizing at high levels compared to the previous record year, according to CEHAT President Jorge Marichal. From November to February, Spanish hotels saw a slight increase in occupancy, with an 8% rise in ADR and a 3.4% increase in RevPAR. The desestacionalización (seasonality reduction) strategy is credited for this growth, alongside a price increase due to improved offerings. A significant change during the pandemic was a 4% increase in hotel rooms for 4 and 5-star categories, maintaining high occupancy despite this growth. Challenges faced by the sector include regulatory issues, food waste legislation, Imserso travel program concerns, and the need for regulation in the tourist housing market.

🏖️ Catalonian government approved a decree on March 25, 2025, doubling the current tourist tax rates by 2025, pending ratification by the Catalonian Parliament. New Barcelona city rates (without VAT) include €7 for 5-star hotels and luxury campsites and €4 for tourist housing, with a potential additional municipal surcharge of up to €8. Other Catalonian municipalities can charge up to €4 extra. The tax revenue will allocate 25% to housing policies and 75% to the Tourism Promotion Fund. The decree also mandates sustainable tourism development aligned with UN's 2030 Agenda.

📈 Ávoris, led by Juan Carlos González and Vicente Fenollar, focuses on Costa Rica for international expansion after recent Mexico entry with Catai brand. The decision is not final, but Costa Rica is likely the next market for Catai. Iberojet operates flights from Madrid to San José twice weekly, increasing to three times from June to October. Ávoris partnered with Travel Shop in Mexico, entered Italy in January with Travelplan and Welcomebeds, and plans for France and Morocco. In 2024, established presence in Brazil and Argentina via CVC consortium, offering Special Tours circuits, Welcomebeds, and Welcome Incoming Services.

🏦 Great Place To Work (GPTW) included 63 companies in Spain's annual list for career development, with only three hotel chains: Hotelatelier, MarSenses Hotels & Homes, and Hilton in Barcelona. Hotelatelier, with a staff of over 600 and 41 hotels, ranked 7th among companies with 501-1,000 employees for Best Workplaces España 2025. MarSenses, with five 4-star hotels and a villa in Mallorca plus one establishment in Menorca, had employee satisfaction rates above 94%. Hilton, a global hotel leader with over 8,300 properties in 138 countries, was named number 1 by Great Place to Work and Fortune in 2023. Hilton Barcelona has 377 employees, with over 86% considering it an excellent workplace.