The president and general director of Hoteles City, Luis Barrios, affirmed that it will not be until next year when the occupancy levels of 2019 are achieved and they begin to register growth. At the moment, its levels are around 92% and with an average rate increase of 5%, compared to those registered before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In the last two years we have had to endure and reinvent ourselves. Now we have to consolidate ourselves financially”, he commented during the celebration of the 20 years of the chain that currently has 152 hotels (four in Colombia, one in Chile and one in Costa Rica). During the meeting with the media, the company’s new image was also unveiled, with which it will continue to develop its five brands.
Regarding the behavior of the rates, he recalled that due to bad times several hotels had to close and in his case they were careful because in addition to being pioneers in the implementation of sanitary protocols, they faced the challenge that their main business niche is that of travelers from deal.
“Our goal was to make the company known as responsible for biosecurity issues and to remain open, because in some cases we received doctors and infected people who were recovering in hotels following strict protocols,” he added.
In a brief account of the chain’s history, he said that the initial plan was to have 10 hotels in the first three years of life and the plans were accelerated.
With the knowledge of meeting the challenges that arise, that of the pandemic was greater and forced to look for alternatives: When there was less fear of contagion, mobility was reactivated in the country. Our occupation was given by looking for new markets such as national pleasure tourism, which we did not have in our normal portfolio. The focus was business. They even had to adjust their services because suddenly they began to receive families in their properties and that implied more resources. They also paid more attention to the medical tourism segment.
“It is a fact, the growth we see will be different from what was previously stated: selling through different channels and with new market segments, such as digital nomads (an agreement was recently announced with an application that offers lodging by the hour in some hotels). ),” he added.
The director of Marketing and Franchise Services, Paulina Mendoza, said that the chain has established itself in the country through its flagship brand, City Express.