The price of the last available rooms has skyrocketed. By now, booking for the days of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which starts on Monday, is not an easy goal, let alone a cheap one. The occupation rubs the whole from this weekend and until Tuesday. Taking bookings into account, the conference attendees stretch ahead, it is practically impossible to find a room for less than 250 euros a night and the most common price exceeds 600 euros at bnetwork, the official agency of the MWC. Also preparing for a week of maximum activity are the restaurants with the most projection, which have practically all the tables reserved for dinners.
"We are at 98%. Most conference attendees arrive on Sunday and leave on Wednesday morning", says the director of the Gallery Hotel, Lourdes Grau. At El Palace they agree: "It seems that this year the congressmen are not staying so long at the back; the strong days are Monday and Tuesday".
Last year the organization of the MWC reserved 18,500 rooms in Barcelona (26,000 were the record year in 2019) and this year the Gremi d'Hotels maintains that there are more than in the previous edition, but not specify no number. The truth is that the organizers are expecting around 95,000 congress participants, after last year's successful edition, in which forecasts (80,000 attendees) were surpassed to reach an entrance of 88,500 people.
bnetwork lists 27 hotels with rooms available, including six five-star establishments with prices ranging from 520 euros per night (Torre Melina), 1,560 from Le Meridien or 3,960 euros from the Mandarin Oriental. The rate for the nine four-star establishments available is between 339 and 684 euros, and that of the three stars, between 258 and 365 euros. The cheapest room, at 164 euros a night, is that of the one-star Praktik Garden hotel.
During the days of the congress (between Monday and next Thursday) "84% of the accommodation is not available", warns one of the main online search engines, Booking.com. According to its director, Toni Raurich-Marcet, the concentration of demand results in an average price increase of 58%. "And just as it happened before the pandemic, employment is almost 100% in Barcelona, which forces some congressmen to look for accommodation in other nearby municipalities". According to this search engine, the average stay is three nights from Sunday.
The best hotel in Barcelona is also preparing for a week of maximum activity. The city's new three-star restaurant, Disfrutar, has reservations that, well in advance, were made by several companies linked to the great meeting of the telephone. However, they will not close the restaurant exclusively for any firm, nor have they altered the closing days for weekly rest. The same is stated in the exclusive Pur, by Nandu Jubany, which for the occasion will serve groups that will occupy tables of 12 or 14 diners but will not close exclusively.
The relationship of the owners of another three-star restaurant, Cocina Hermanos Torres, with the Samsung brand, of which they are ambassadors, has led them to close their spacious les Corts building at noon on Monday to offer an exclusive lunch. "We have prepared a very special menu and we will also participate with them in the talks that will be given during the event", explains Sergio Torres, who adds that, as something exceptional, they have decided to open during Mobile on Sunday and Monday , usually rest days. "We have some tables reserved by companies but we also wanted to offer the possibility of coming to the Barcelona clientele".
Amar, by Rafa Zafra, will be closed for two nights for the exclusive use of two groups. The dimensions of Estimar, the other restaurant of this chef and his partner, Anna Gotanegra, and its uniqueness make it one of those chosen by the top managers of some of the companies in the competition.
As at Amar, at Moments, at the Mandarin Oriental Barcelona, there are nights when they have table reservations and others when they have rented the entire space of the restaurant. "The Mobile days are a great opportunity for us", says Raül Balam, head of the kitchen. Romain Fornell explains that in his case it is not a year in which the whole place has been booked, but he does have quite a few tables reserved. "There are many with three, five or eight diners". They also have some reservations for several groups of around 40 people in their large space Azul Rooftop Barcelona, which has just started the season.
