New report looks at the challenges of the Spanish hotel market in 2015

A new report, ‘Challenges of the Hotel Market: Madrid vs Barcelona 2015’, published today by specialist property adviser Christie + Co, finds that the future growth potential in Madrid and Barcelona is significant, providing it is actively encouraged by the hotel sector and external public and private organisations.
 
The report looks at the margins for growth and development in the hotel sectors in Barcelona and Madrid in 2015, based on its survey of directors of three-, four- and five-star hotels in both cities. 
 
Results of the survey highlight the challenges the cities will face in 2015. In Barcelona an over-supply of beds fuelled by the boom in low-cost holiday lets will be a key issue, as will a drop in the average daily spend of visitors due to an increase in ‘budget’ holiday makers. In Madrid the need to increase prices and ADR, especially in the mid to high-end markets, to position the city in line with EU competitor destinations and developing Madrid as a ‘brand’ via improved promotion by external organisation and increased investment were identified by survey participants as factors to be aware of in 2015. 
 
The survey highlights that whilst the challenges identified by hotel directors differ between Madrid and Barcelona, one of the unanimous factors was technology. Hotel directors have seen that free wifi access can be the deciding factor in choosing one hotel over another, especially for business guests where it is viewed as essential. 
 
Christie + Co’s Managing Director of Spain and Portugal, Inmaculada Ranera, says: “The Spanish tourism industry has made positive in-roads in the past year due to the stability of Spain’s political climate, especially in comparison to countries such as Turkey and Egypt which are now seen as more volatile destinations. It is reassuring to see that the majority of hotel directors who participated in our survey see potential for growth in their city in 2015. However, this growth will be underpinned by cooperation and collaboration between the hotel community and external partners in order to promote both the cities and hotels.” 
 
For a more detailed analysis, the full report can be downloaded from http://www.christie.com/en/publications/230.pdf