Vacation rentals continue to impact small hotels in Mexico

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

Claim: Hosting platforms like Airbnb impact small hotels the most.

The Vice President of the Hotel Association of the Riviera Maya, Andrea Lotito revealed that hosting platforms such as Airbnb impact small hotels, because so far this year they have not managed to exceed the occupancy of 65 percent. In addition, they have the ability to offer better quality lodgings in better locations.

Lotito explained that there are 17,000 active quarters in the Riviera Maya, plus 5,000 that are under construction and added that this is one of the three most important markets in the continent, but that there is unfair competition with the platforms.

Lotito also said that there are 3,500 rooms in small hotels, the oversupply is generated in a desperate way, where the rent does not pay the investment and the investors have not reached their goals. Competitiveness is lost not only in the price, but also in the service.

“Cities like San Francisco, where the Airbnb platform has been ironically generated, has maintained a cap on the units and a vacation rental costs more than a hotel room; in Playa del Carmen, as in most of the country, what happens is that the rates are lowered and it is not business for anyone."

— Andrea Lotito, Vice President of Hotel Association of the Riviera Maya

He recommended that the information to support the business be taken into account, because so far this year, 4,000 units of the platform have renounced this business scheme, passing long-term income, because it does not guarantee constant income such as a check in or check out. He asked that the state authority be aware of where the service of these types of platforms is generated.

He talked about the security that must be guaranteed to the visitor, such as the installations of light, gas, where the authority must monitor that the protocols are met, although he acknowledged that it is not so easy, but in Benito Juárez there is already a pilot where the territory is mapped and it is determined which regions are suitable to provide the service, as municipal public services are needed to have these platforms.

But not only that, but also the users of the platform itself are the ones in charge of evaluating and exposing the problems to which the tourist is exposed in certain regions of the city he visits.

"Small hotels have not been able to overcome this channel, since they have higher operating costs, due to the quality of service and the good location," he said. In addition to the reduction of rates and do not reach occupancy beyond 65 percent in the best months of the year.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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