Spanish hotel reservations down by around 30% for this summer

The Spanish hotels and tourist accommodation federation say families are cutting back this year

Hotel reservations made by Spanish tourists this summer are down by 30% on last year’s figures, according to a report published by CEHAT, the Spanish hotel and tourist accommodation confederation.

Ramón Estalella, the head of CEHAT, pointed out that this doesn’t mean that Spaniards aren’t taking holidays, but that there will be a “drastic fall” in the average number of nights they stay in hotels, and that this “has an effect on spending and occupancy rates”.
He also mentioned that CEHAT is not foreseeing “that prices will fall, in part due to the fact that they have already come down a long way over the last few years”.

According to the survey, which takes into account the opinions of hotel owners and managers, 57% of those questioned believe that the foreign market will maintain the level of last year, while 76% think that domestic demand will drop off.

The recession is becoming deeper, unemployment figures are up, and people are earning less. Reservations in general are going badly, with many Spaniards waiting for last-minute offers rather than booking in advance and 80% say they are choosing cheaper types of tourism than hotels, such as campsites, self-catering apartments and homes belonging to family and friends.

However, the Spanish families questioned said that going without their breaks was only a last resort, most would settle for shorter holidays, cheaper options and cutting back on treats rather than not go at all.

Murcia is very much reliant on holiday visitors from Madrid and inner Spain, our market here traditionally being a domestic market. Although there are thousands of holiday apartments owned by Spanish families along the coast and around the Mar Menor, many of our hotels rely on this busy summer season, the next 8 weeks the most crucial of the year.
However, just 10 days into the season and the hotels sector is already expressing its concern that in spite of the shops and beaches being busy, it still doesn´t mean a good enough summer to compensate for a difficult and disappointing Semana Santa this Easter.