The tourism sector and, in particular, medium to large hotels and resorts are those that have suffered the most from the pandemic and, in turn, those that have experienced the most changes in the way of working due to it.

After years of constant growth where ADR’s and occupancies kept rising all over the world without seeming to have a limit, we fell We fell into the deepest of abysses: the records were unprecedented and the demand disappeared.

Fortunately, the pandemic has been overcome, but the way of working in the hospitality industry has changed.

Now, hotels in general have become totally dependent on OTA’s, the big winners of the pandemic, and in particular on one OTA that dominates the market. We are not going to go into the risks that dependence on a monopoly means in any business, but we are going to analyze how OTA’s work.

OTA's fill your hotel in periods of high demand: it is very easy and comfortable to give an OTA all the conditions it requests (membership, non-refundable, early booking....). But what happens in times of low occupancy?

That's where a hotel should bet on good marketing. Getting good KPI's in off-peak periods is going to be the key to growth.

Having good KPI's in low season means:

• Achieving diversification in the hotel's cash flow.

• Retaining talented staff.

• It provides greater negotiating capacity with suppliers.

• It presents a diversification of risks.

At HotelRepresentatives we are celebrating 10 years betting on the improvement of KPI's in low season and also betting on diversification.

In these ten years we have avoided:

• The loss of British clients due to Brexit.

• The loss of the Russian market due to the devaluation of the ruble.

• The loss of the Argentinean market due to the imposition of taxes on purchases abroad.

• the fall of giant tour operators.

Our formula is simple: bet on Europe.

Europe is the outbound market that guarantees security in the occupancy of every hotel:

• The Euro is a currency that is always strong worldwide.

• Europe is the only market with social coverage.

• Europe is the union of very different cultures.

• Each European country has its own holiday calendar & travel habits.

And most importantly: Europe has made travel as a vital necessity. Nothing can stop Europeans in their eagerness to get to know other cultures. We have seen the proof this year with the travel crazy in Europe.

No one has the magic to predict what will happen in the future, but what is clear is that the strength of the European markets will be maintained and representation in these markets will give us stability for a whole season.

Betting on local representation in europe seems to be the option with the highest ROI:

• More than ever it is necessary to be up to date with the markets.

• Outsourced local representation means a cost reduction.

• The marketing fee + sales commission formula forces you to work continuously with the represented hotels.

At HotelRepresentatives, "we are forecasting a strong Q3 in the European outbound markets, although not at the level of Q2"."In addition, we believe that high inflation in Europe will lead to a strong increase in long-haul travel in Q3," according to Kim Masas, hotelrepresentatives european head of sales.