Yuste moderates all-inclusive debate at AOHIS investment conference
The repositioning of all-inclusive resorts ads more sophistication to this market segment
The answer begins with a simple, market-driven approach: increase prices across the board at hotels, restaurants, museums, and retail outlets alike. This is not about gouging customers, it is about aligning prices with demand, following established revenue management principles.
Tourists keep flocking to top destinations because, frankly, these destinations are extremely affordable. But when demand spikes, prices should rise accordingly. This dynamic is the backbone of free markets, and it applies to tourism just as much as to any other economic sector.
Also, it is worth acknowledging that not anyone can afford any hotel or any destination, and that not anyone can afford to reside in any area of any city. Wide GDP per capita disparities between countries play a natural role in where people can afford to travel or live. Overall, higher prices and rates will reduce overcrowding and attract tourism with higher capacity of spending.
Up to half of the total room supply in many cities is in the hands of non-professional owners of tourist apartments who lack revenue management expertise. These apartments, very often larger and with more capacity than standard hotel rooms, are dramatically underpriced in terms of price per square meter. This drags down the cities’ average ADR and draws in huge volumes of tourists.
Operating and marketing a tourist apartment is a business, and owners need to understand basic hospitality principles. Local governments should mandate revenue management training as part of the licensing process to ensure owners price their properties effectively and professionally.
In many cities, a significant portion of the tourist apartment supply operates illegally. Governments must step up monitoring efforts and require proper licensing. Licensing should come with a required understanding of how to manage these assets as part of a broader hospitality and tourism professional ecosystem.
In many regions, the real reason behind housing shortages is not so much tourist apartments, it is a lack of residential development. Rigid urban planning laws limit new housing construction, driving up prices. We need more flexibility in urban planning regulations to increase the residential and social housing stock.
In countries like Spain, legal protection for landlords is extremely inadequate, leading to tenant delinquency disputes. As a result, many landlords prefer to rent to tourists, further reducing long-term residential supply. Strengthening landlord protections will encourage them to return their properties to the long-term rental market.
These taxes are just a pretext by local governments to increase their budgets. There is absolutely no empirical evidence in any destination in the world of tax hikes contributing to reduce tourist flows. Furthermore, there is no evidence either of tourist tax money improving the quality of life of the local communities at the destination. The Balearic Islands and Barcelona are two excellent examples of this. Venice is going to be the next clear example.
Bordering on collusion, caps on hotel licenses artificially inflate asset prices, driving up ADRs and ultimately hurting the end consumer. Government intervention in the hotel market creates conflicts of interest, particularly between regulators and hotel owners, and does not serve the public good (example: Barcelona, Amsterdam, San Sebastián, etc.).
Banning tourist apartments, as seen in New York, only drives up hotel prices, limiting consumer choice and raising costs for everyone.
It is short-sighted to ban specific platforms like Airbnb.org or Booking.com when tourists can book apartments directly on the internet and via social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook. In a world of endless digital distribution channels, such bans are futile and only hurt consumers.
