Hotels have been one of the sectors that have suffered the most due to the pandemic and, subsequently, the great exchange rate gap with Argentina which promoted outbound tourism, leaving the sector waiting for an improvement that has begun to arrive.
“The hotel industry in the Uruguay is in frank recovery,” said the sales manager of After Hotel Montevideo, Martin Fernandez Buero. “Favorable trends are seen, both in terms of occupancy and future reservations, especially for the last quarter of the year, when the diversity of the city’s offering increases and this attracts a greater number of tourists, both for leisure and business, to the city,” he added.
With an offer of 92 recently renovated rooms, from After Hotel are trying to meet the changing demands of tourists in a world that is constantly changing. “We have seen a change in the profile of the guest. Many are looking for more personalized experiences and value flexibility in bookings,” he said. “Quick and effective adaptation to these changes has been essential to our recovery,” he stressed.
“The challenge is great, customer demand has changed, significantly increasing last-minute bookings, but, although there is still a long way to go to return to pre-pandemic levels, the signs are very encouraging and we feel optimistic about the future,” added Fernández Buero.
The exchange rate gap, the sector’s latest battle
During the past year, and part of this one, the tourism sector has gone through a very tough battle against the exchange rate gap that existed with Argentina. Uruguayans decided to travel to that country instead of doing domestic tourism. However, due to the policies applied in the neighboring country, the situation improved considerably.
“The exchange rate gap affected Montevideo, generating challenges in the management of rates and costs, but at After Hotel we managed to adapt by offering competitive rates and promotional packages to minimize their impact. This allowed us to maintain acceptable competitiveness and continue attracting guests of different nationalities,” said the sales manager of After Hotel Montevideo.
In this regard, he commented that one of the solutions applied was to promote the internal tourism“This helped strengthen our relationship with the local market, which is essential for long-term sustainability,” he explained. “Today, this gap has narrowed and we are beginning to see a recovery in rates in the market, driven by demand, especially on weekends,” he said.
Ambitious goals
Given the current situation in the sector, from After Hotel They assure that the goal for this year is to reach occupancy levels similar to those before the pandemic. Fernández also assured that they continue with the intention of further improving their rooms to enhance the experience of their clients.
“We want to consolidate our presence in the market, increase the occupancy rate and continue innovating in our services to offer an unforgettable stay to our guests,” he said. “To achieve this, we are focusing on improving our offer and services, as well as strengthening our digital marketing strategies to attract a greater number of tourists, both national and international,” he added.
Being a hotel that focuses on the corporate sectoralthough it has a fairly diversified segmentation that allows it to meet the demand of different audiences effectively and simultaneously, they ensure that their strategic location together with their diversified strategy and the variety of services and amenities they offer, allow them to satisfy the needs of all types of clients.
“In After Hotel“We strive to offer a wide range of services to meet the needs of all our guests, whether they are here for business or pleasure,” said Fernandez.
Source: Ambito
