Staying in a hotel during the holidays has never been so expensive in Spain. The average rate per occupied room reached 128.8 euros per night in July, 6.3% more than the same month last year and almost 25% above July 2019 (102 euros), a record year for the tourism sector and reference to compare after the pandemic, according to the Hotel Situation survey published this Wednesday by the INE.
The rise does not understand categories. It affects all budgets, those who have to settle for the most basic establishments because they cannot pay more and those who are allowed more luxurious services. If four years ago a night in a three-star establishment cost 88.2 euros and, in a four-star establishment, 111.5 euros, this July the price stood at 110 euros and 134.8 euros respectively. For five-star hotels, the rate in July, at the height of the high season, has gone from 212 euros to 298.6 euros. The increase is also significant compared to 2022 –see graph–, when prices have already risen in the heat of the travel frenzy after the pandemic. The income per available room (counting both those that are occupied and those that are not), also advances.
However, the hoteliers consulted insist that profitability does not grow at the same rate because costs –electricity rates, salaries, food...– are not letting up either. The latest report from the Exceltur employers attributes this increase in operating costs, together with the "improvement in product quality", the increase in the average price of accommodation. The number of 4 and 5 star places, for example, has increased by 62,000 in the first half of the year, while 40,000 places from one to three stars have disappeared.
Despite the record hotel prices reached in July, inflation is beginning to moderate, with the lowest rise in the last two years, a sign that perhaps tourist demand is already beginning to be sensitive to rates. It is precisely this enthusiasm for going on vacation – almost a vital necessity after the covid break – that has kept the records of occupations and visitors high in a context of spiraling prices.
In the first seven months of this year, hotels have registered 149.76 million overnight stays, which is 13.5% more than in the same period of 2022 and a figure higher than January-July 2019. Hotel stays increased in addition, 2.5% in July compared to the same month in 2022 and reached the figure of 43.1 million, lower than the 3.3% increase in the month of June, although very close to the overnight stays of July 2019 ( 43.2 million). The average stay, on the other hand, decreased by 0.6% compared to July 2022, standing at 3.4 overnight stays per traveller, and also compared to the same month in 2019 (3.57). Another sign that rates are beginning to scratch pockets, since the volume of tourists who have stayed in hotels in the last month (12.67 million) exceeds July four years ago (12.1 million four years ago). . In other words, with more tourists, fewer overnight stays have been achieved.
And here comes one of the slight disappointments in the sector with the season. The first months of the year worked so well, Easter Week reached such levels of occupancy and spending, that the hotel companies could barely contain their euphoria. “Expectations were very high, July has gone well, but less than expected; In August, on the other hand, we see a new upturn”, comments Xavier Guardià, spokesman for the Tarragona Province Hospitality and Tourism Business Federation. Judith Lloverol, manager of the Costa Brava Center, points in the same direction: "Occupancy during the week has been somewhat lower, recovering on the weekend with the arrival of more national tourists."
By origin of the guests, the nights of travelers residing in Spain exceeded 15.3 million in July, which represented 35.6% of the total. For their part, those of foreigners were above 27.7 million.
Tourists from the United Kingdom and Germany concentrated 25.5% and 16.6% respectively of the total overnight stays of non-residents, followed by travelers from France, the United States and the Netherlands (8.6%, 4.8 % and 4.4% respectively). Andalusia, Catalonia and the Valencian Community were the main destinations for travelers residing in Spain in July, with 23.8%, 15.2% and 12.8% of the total overnight stays. For its part, the main destination chosen for non-residents was the Balearic Islands, with 34.5% of the total overnight stays. The following destinations were Catalonia and the Canary Islands, with 20.9% and 18.4%.
In July, 70.2% of the places offered were covered, with an annual increase of 1.3%. The occupancy rate by bedplaces at weekends rose 1.5% and stood at 74.1%. Barcelona, Madrid and Calvià were the tourist spots with the most overnight stays.
