The president of the Hotel Business Federation of Ibiza and Formentera, Ana Gordillo is convinced that “100% of the accommodation facilities” on islands “will be open on June 1st”. In April, only around 12% of the hotel facilities were open and since, then the rest have started to open little by little, a process that Gordillo is sure will be completed in the next four days: “We will see 100% of the hotel facilities open on June 1st. Those who have not started working before this, will do so then”.
This year, the president recalls, all the lodgings that opened in April over Easter, “worked very well and had quite satisfactory occupancies“. But May “has been a little weaker because, little by little, the percentage of establishments that are available is increasing”. That is to say, tourists have more places to choose from, so that the percentage of occupancy in each hotel is reduced. we can’t complain,” he says, “but as in May there is more hotel supply, there is not so much work, so there is more to choose from. But occupancy is going up.
Hotel reservations show a “more normal” season
Gordillo is optimistic about the season, which “seems more normal after two very strange and unpredictable years, in which we worked one or two months, or some only a week. Hence the entrepreneurs, who “are eager to work, have brought forward the openings”.
“Everything points to the fact that it will be a season quite similar to those of before the pandemic” because the flow of reservations “is higher than in 2019”
She assures that “the forecasts for June, July and August, even September, are very good” and that “everything points to the fact that it will be a season quite similar to those of before the pandemic” because the flow of reservations “is higher than in 2019”.
In her opinion, the trend of booking at the very last minute “is no longer as pronounced as in 2018 and 2019”, as tourists “are being more foresighted“. However, she considers that this will be checked as the season progresses and, above all, at the end: “This year will serve to check how tourists behave after these two years of health crisis and being unable to travel. We will see what happens with the stays, if they remain mostly as getaways, if they are extended or if they are booked more or less in advance”. In this regard, she points out that tourists were for a long time “unable to go out and now, when they can do so without restrictions, they take advantage of it”. According to data from the Neobookings booking engine, 35% of bookings for the coming months are for between four and six nights, while 29% are for between two and three days, and 21% will stay here for seven to ten days. These are longer stays than in 2019, when 33% were for two to three days, 32% for between four and six nights, and 17% for trips of seven to ten days.
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