The large Spanish hotel groups have confirmed this summer the recovery of their activity, generally reaching income and occupancy levels even higher than those registered in 2019, the year prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and which, in the case of Spain, meant the best year in history for tourism.
Meliá Hotels International, NH Hotel Group, Barceló Hotel Group, RIU Hotels & Resorts and Palladium Hotel Group are also optimistic for the final stretch of the year, despite the uncertainties generated by the war in Ukraine and the economic situation. being able to close the year with business volumes very close to those of before the pandemic.
The hoteliers describe the summer as positive, mostly exceeding expectations, while drawing rosy prospects
In recent months, Spanish hotel chains have registered occupancy levels of around 80-90% and, furthermore, in an inflationary context and after dedicating their efforts in recent years to improving their hotel facilities, they have increased rates. The five groups coincide, in response to ‘elEconomista.es’, in qualifying the summer as positive, mostly exceeding expectations, while drawing rosy prospects.
What occupancy and income levels has the company registered this summer compared to 2021 and 2019?
MELIÁ: In the third quarter of 2022, in Spanish holiday hotels, occupancy remained slightly below that reached in 2019, something that was “compensated” by the double-digit improvement in the average rate. Regarding the year 2021, we do not have the comparison, since we understand that what is relevant is the comparison with a pre-Covid year.
In the absence of closing the quarter and having the global and definitive data, our opinion is that yes, definitely, the revenues of the third quarter of 2022 will have exceeded those of 2019.
NH: The balance of the summer season is very positive, it has exceeded our expectations. During these months, the trend of the second quarter of 2022 has been maintained both in occupancy and income. In June, 190 million euros of revenue were recorded, which was a new all-time record for the company. In July and August this positive line has been followed, improving the income of 2019 thanks to the increase in the average rate and the recovery of the international traveler.
BARCELÓ: In the absence of the end of September, we can confirm that the summer season has been very good, above expectations, with occupations between 80% and 90%. Although the results depend on each destination, in general terms revenue for this summer in Spain and EMEA have been higher than in 2019, with some hotels even reaching record numbers.
RIU: In the months of May to August, all the indicators have equaled or exceeded those of 2019. We have registered an average occupancy of around 90%, slightly higher than that of 2019, while the average rate has increased by close to 10% . This has been possible thanks to the fact that the strong demand has allowed marketing without the need to launch offers, and also thanks to the direct channel in which there is the capacity to increase rates in the short term.
The main markets for RIU hotels in Spain are Germany, the United Kingdom Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. These markets have maintained or increased their production so far this summer, with the exception of Spain. This has been mainly due to the increase in international markets and the last-minute booking of the national market, which on many occasions has found itself with a lack of availability because the European markets, although they are booking much less in advance than before the pandemic, It continues to book before the national market.
Revenues so far this summer have been much higher than those of 2019. But this rise in demand and activity comes at the same time that we are experiencing an overwhelming increase in costs, led by food and fuel, so to analyze The profitability will have to wait until the end of the financial year.
PALLADIUM: We are very satisfied with how the season is going. The start was even better than expected and July and August have presented good data and occupancy levels, in fact, we have reached peaks of 90% occupancy, September is also having a positive response, even somewhat better than that of 2019. In addition , this summer we have inaugurated TRS Ibiza Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel Marbella, which have generated great interest and are having a great reception.
Compared to last summer, sales have evolved very positively. It must be taken into account that this summer we started the season very early, due to the Easter dates, while last year we had a much shorter season. The sales volume this summer is by far higher than last summer.
Compared to 2019, the indicators are also very positive, also due to the consolidation of hotels that we had opening in that year. Having said this, and reconfirming what we already anticipated at FITUR at the beginning of the year, we are in line and the trend is accompanying us to surpass the results of 2019.
What has been the behavior of the different markets by geography?
NH: All the markets where we operate have benefited from the strategy of targeting two complementary segments, leisure and business. This has allowed NH Hotel Group to consolidate the reactivation of all its activity in record time.
Geographically, the destinations in southern Europe stand out, especially in the Mediterranean where the best results of the summer season have been obtained. In this sense, it is also worth noting Portugal, which, with an occupancy rate of over 80%, has obtained record figures in average price.
Outside of Europe, Argentina has been one of the key destinations thanks to domestic tourism and the recovery of foreign tourists that has allowed for very good results this season.
BARCELÓ: These results reconfirm that people really wanted to travel after months of contained demand and, although the impact of the Omicron variant and the crisis in Ukraine slowed down the rate of growth at first, the truth is that reservations for last minute they multiplied week after week, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, especially in destinations such as Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the Valencian Community and Catalonia, thanks to the good performance of the Spanish market and international markets such as the UK, Germany and France, as well as the North American client who has returned with force after two years missing as a result of Covid-19.
RIU has holiday hotels in the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia. In all of them, the average occupancy has been around 90%, in all of them the average rate and production have increased, and in RIU hotels the most important markets are Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. What varies is the order of importance. For example, in the Balearic Islands, Germany remains number one; in Andalusia it is Spanish and in the Canary Islands it is Germany, closely followed by the United Kingdom, which this year has increased considerably. The Dutch customer also stands out in general, which has grown for all our destinations, as has Belgium.
In summary, it has been a record summer in all indicators and everything indicates that the winter will be good, although the last-minute reservation is maintained. We believe that this contention in reserves is due to the uncertain situation that we are experiencing in Europe due to the increase in prices and the fear of an energy crisis.
PALLADIUM: The response is being positive from all the markets, if we have verified anything it is the interest that there was in traveling and living new experiences. The international tourist has returned, mainly in the case of the islands. International markets such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Belgium are responding very well, in the same way that the national market (Spain) has generated many reservations. We have also perceived a very positive share of Americans in our hotels in Europe.
In the case of Spain, we have a presence in some of the essential destinations for national and international tourists, due to the easy connections they offer, as they are destinations with a high quality offer and proposals for all types of profiles such as They are: Costal del Sol (Málaga, Marbella and Benalmádena), Balearic Islands (Ibiza and Menorca) or Canary Islands (Tenerife).
What occupancy and income prospects do you have for the fourth quarter of the year?
MELIÁ: As of today, the prospects are very positive for September and October, where we estimate reaching an occupancy rate somewhat lower than the same period in 2019, with a greater weight of international demand than national demand, while prices will remain above those of 2019.
NH: A good rhythm of reserves is perceived. Demand from the business segment for September and October, together with the return to holding large congresses and events, and international travel could offset a hypothetical slowdown in leisure demand. We anticipate a solid trend for the fall.
BARCELÓ: The forecasts for the fourth quarter are moderately optimistic, although it will depend on the evolution of the war, inflation and energy costs. But in principle, everything indicates that the situation will continue to stabilize and the MICE segment will recover.
RIU: For September and October, which are still considered the summer season, the forecasts are very good and 80% of the available rooms are already reserved with an average rate and global production better than those of 2019. For their part, the forecasts for November and December they are positive, although the short term is maintained due to uncertainty.
PALLADIUM: Taking into account that we are having a good summer season, in which we have reached occupancies with peaks of 90 percent in the central months and that the response in this month of September is being somewhat better than that of 2019, we are confident that we will have a good end of the season in holiday hotels in the Balearic Islands, we are considering closing figures similar to those of 2019. In the same way, we anticipate a good winter for Tenerife. On the other hand, we also have positive forecasts for hotels in the urban segment in this fourth quarter.
What price rise per room have you registered this summer compared to 2021 and 2019 and what forecasts do you have in this regard for the coming months?
MELIÁ: This information is very complex to offer, since it depends a lot on the type and category of hotel, the investment made in it to reposition it (if applicable), its brand, and of course, the weight they have in each case. superior and deluxe rooms, which have grown a lot this year, in response to growing demand. On average, we could talk about a double-digit increase compared to 2019, as we estimated when presenting the results for the second quarter.
NH: The…
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