"We have managed to emerge glorious and in a very positive way from the pandemic." This is how forcefully the president of the Gremi d'Hotels de Barcelona, Jordi Clos, expresses himself, given the good results achieved by the sector in 2022, with a hotel occupancy rate of 75.2% ---still 6.8 points below pre-pandemic levels--- and a historical record of 152 euros in the average price per occupancy. "We did not expect these figures. A year ago I could not imagine that today we would be talking about these results. The year has been much better than we had anticipated," admitted the veteran businessman.
"Barcelona's takeoff has been much faster than that of other major European capitals, which shows that the city's vitality remains very strong," pointed out Clos, who anticipates that 2023 will also be "a very positive year" in which 2019 occupancy levels will be reached, the year that is marked in gold letters for the Barcelona hotel sector, because it was, according to the Gremi, the best in history.
"This year we will approach or equal the 2019 figures because important events are planned in the city's calendar that lead us to foresee that occupancy will be very positive," highlights Clos in reference to the celebration of large trade fairs such as ISE, MWC, Seafood and Expoquimia and important congresses such as the European Pharmacy Meeting (Infarma) and the World Parkinson Congress, scheduled for the first week of July.
At the ISE audiovisual technology fair, which has just been held, an occupancy of between 70% and 80% (6,500 rooms) has been reached, depending on the areas, a figure that is expected to be higher in 2024. In parallel, for the MWC, which will start on February 27, 18,500 rooms have already been reserved, 76% more than in 2022, but still 29% below the 26,000 rooms of 2019. "During the MWC, Barcelona hotels will reach an occupancy of between 90% and 95%, but room prices, as we agreed, will still be between 5% and 10% below 2019 amounts. In 2024 we expect to return to normality and set rates at pre-pandemic levels," explained the president of the Gremi d'Hotels.
Clos recalled the uneven evolution of 2022, as between January and March occupancy figures were very low and only between 70% and 80% of the city's 480 hotels had reopened. From April, once Covid restrictions were lifted, the trend changed, as tourist activity reactivated and, by mid-June, practically all hotels that had not yet done so opened.
In total, 2022 closed with a hotel occupancy of 75.2%, 6.8 percentage points less than in 2019, when it reached 82%. On the contrary, the average price per room has grown by 12 euros compared to the pre-pandemic year, up to 152 euros, the highest figure achieved so far by the sector. This increase in the average price has allowed to partially compensate for the increase in hotel costs caused by the rise in energy and food prices. "The higher revenue per room does not go to profit, but to compensate for costs; we still have a cost deviation of 6%," he detailed.
Clos insisted on how important it is for Barcelona to have a major business or sports event every month that contributes to complementing usual tourist activity. "15 years ago, Barcelona had little competition, we were alone in Spain in terms of attractiveness, but now that has changed, other cities have woken up, so we need to bet big and make an effort to attract these major events linked to business," he stressed.
After being asked about the upcoming municipal elections, Clos asked that the new mayor "be someone who loves the great Barcelona." "Simply, I ask for this, that they have a great love for this city. Loving a city as wonderful as Barcelona means many things. I wish to see a mayor who is in love with the city," reflected the also owner of the Derby Hotels chain.
"Loving a city as wonderful as Barcelona means many things. I wish to see a mayor who is in love with the city"More transparency in the destination of the tourist tax
The businessman has taken the opportunity to denounce the "mess" that currently exists in Barcelona regarding mobility, emphasizing the need not to ruin the unique urban planning of the Eixample. The Gremi d'Hotels has also asked for more transparency from the Generalitat and the Barcelona City Council when communicating how the 72 million euros that are expected to be collected this year from the tax on the tourism sector, paid by hoteliers, are being invested.
"Barcelona is the only city that has a tax of this type; what we want is for it to be invested well and for citizens to be better informed about what the money is used for. It is necessary to highlight the contribution that hoteliers and the tourism sector make. We need to feel more recognized," he argued.
In this regard, he expressed great satisfaction with the decision of the Administrations to allocate part of the tax revenue to finance events such as the America's Cup sailing competition to be held in Barcelona in 2024, the equestrian show jumping competition, or the ISE. "It is important to invest in these major events, because they bring notoriety and business to the city, but we have to explain it better," he concluded.