• With one week left in the month, bookings in Spain are already higher than in the whole of April, and in the Caribbean they are still positive.
  • Reducing the level of uncertainty improves the chances of planning hotel reopenings.
  • Vaccination developments, the return of turoperation and the lifting of travel restrictions continue to hold back activity, despite the evident improvement.
  • Among the hotels connected to Dingus in Spain, the German and Central European markets have the most positive development.
  • Our indicators are fed by the more than 1 billion product search requests that Dingus receives on average per month, via more than 1,200 connected hotels and a distribution map that integrates more than 500 tour operators from all over the world.

Main indicators of Dingus DataHotel in Spain-May 2021

Very positive evolution so far in May. We have already exceeded by more than 30% the number of bookings and room nights achieved in the whole of April.

Although hoteliers appreciate the growth of OTAs (44% share in May) in the current context, many of them are waiting for the return of tour operation, when flight operations resume and a more competitive packaged price can be offered.

Bookings are mainly for couples and short stays dominate again, although more than 50% now exceed five nights and 70 out of 100 are stays within the next 90 days. These figures are in line with the performance of the German and Central European markets, which are showing a positive trend. On the other hand, British operators show a more moderate evolution, although they have also improved their bookings compared to April. Nevertheless, 75% have bookings within 3 months or more.

The cancellation rate for stays in the summer season (between 1 May and 31 October) is 40%. A ‘normal’ year like 2019 was 25%. However, it should be noted that tour operators are the ones with the lowest cancellation rate and that, with a decrease in bookings from these channels, it is normal that the cancellation indicators increase. This fact, together with the more flexible rates that hoteliers are allowing, allows us to assess that this is not a bad figure.

Dingus’ assessment for Spain:

Although we are still far from approaching the 50% of roomnights in 2019 at this time (which is what the industry was aiming for), the evolution is good. We are starting to see a much higher volume than we observed a month ago, which allows us to think that it will multiply exponentially in the coming weeks. However, a stronger momentum is missing, determined by aspects such as a rise in the ratio of vaccinated population in Central European countries or the UK turning the traffic light to Spain green and allowing quarantine-free and PCR-free travel for its immunised nationals. We also expect holiday bookings from August*, when we expect to start travelling more safely.

*Given that the progress of vaccination in the countries of origin of tourists to Spain is similar (and insufficient) and that the only one that stands out is the United Kingdom, but the traffic light is amber, the volume for August is very low and more bookings are seen in the last months of the year.

On a positive note, we believe that the client has adapted to the current context and is planning his holidays in the short term, but without being improvised. We seem to have overcome what happened last year, when the percentage of bookings we saw less than a week in advance was very high. Above all, there is a clearer intention to travel and, unless the traveller tests positive for a PCR before the trip and is forced to stay at origin, we interpret that the situation is becoming predictable.

The reduction in the level of uncertainty is allowing the percentage of cancellations to fall, which, given the speed with which hotel managers have to act to set up establishments and services, is very good news: it allows for planning.

Main indicators of Dingus DataHotel in the Caribbean-May 2021

(We analyse the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica and Cuba, where our hotel clients have interests).

Bookings in the Caribbean also performed well, with a slight increase compared to April, a month in which bookings had already started in these destinations.

By type of operator, we see online agencies with just over 40% of the contracting share, followed by hotel booking software and, a long way behind, Tour Operators.

As in Spain, couples and short-stay trips also stand out. The booking window is more spread out, with better forecasts for 3 months onwards, due to the fact that bookings from Canadian operators are practically confirmed for the medium and long term.

Dingus’ assessment for the Caribbean destination

The Caribbean area has a much better outlook, with 60% of bookings already confirmed. The momentum is being given by the progress of vaccination in the USA, while Canada is progressing more slowly, as reflected in the fact that this market is booking for the long term in view of the prospect of not travelling this summer.

In Latin American countries the evolution is also slow, although, as we detected at the Tianguis fair, this is favouring domestic tourism. For Mexican coastal destinations, in particular, and taking into account that the country has a population of more than 127 million people, the local client favours an optimum volume of bookings. This is not the case for the European market, whose current volume in the Caribbean destination is quite residual.