Ok, sort of as you were when I posted the original article re the main points of the new tourism law.
Voting was 32 in favour, 19 against with four abstaining.
Here are some of the main points.
1. Hotels can be converted to other use, such as to condohotels or residential apartments, but on the condition that fundamental redevelopment of buildings is undergone. A 5% tax will be raised on the value of the redevelopment work which will be payable to town halls for use in modernisation of tourist areas.
2. Condohotels will have to be of a minimum 3-star or 3-key superior rating.
3. The law will permit whatever increase to the built area of current 4-star and 5-star hotels is possible, so as to allow for modernisation.
4. Final say on conversion of hotels will lie with town halls and their reports will be binding.
5. Hostels, pensions, camping sites, hotels of 1-star and 2-star and apartments of 1-key or 2-key will be given four years to modernise or will be closed if only temporarily pending modernisation.
6. Hotels which offer all-inclusive have to have a plan to meet specific quality standards. The taking out of food and drink from hotels by guests will be banned.
7. A general principle of the law is to promote conversion be it in urban or rural tourism areas. The law appears not to promote the occupation of more land as such.
8. New accommodation in rural areas, through conversion of existing buildings, will be permitted. This measure is part of a move to increase the level of agrotourism.
9. Fines for illegal accommodation will increase by 30%.
Showing posts with label Condohotels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Condohotels. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Tourism law amendments re condos and hotel activities
Ongoing discussions between various parties and the Balearic Government have led to one firm amendment to the proposed new law, i.e. that hotels which opt to become condohotels will be obliged to stay open for six months of the year and not eight months. This is quite a shift in emphasis, as the government was making much of the fact that condos would help to help with combatting off-season problems.
Meanwhile, the complementary offer (bars, restaurants etc.) are carrying on talks with the hotels over the latter being able to offer secondary activities that might conflict with those provided by businesses outside hotels. The complementary offer want this to only be possible for hotels which are open 320 days a year. Previously, it was said that the two sides had arrived at a consensus in moving the new tourism law forward, but it is hard to see how the hotels will agree to this demand.
Otherwise, there is agreement on the prohibition of food and drink being taken off of hotel premises and that if it were to be then hotels would not be held liable. There will be a reliance on information posters to tell guests not to take food and drink out, but this provision in the new law seems very difficult to impose. Who will stop guests doing so? How can they be stopped? If they didn't stop, would they (the guests) be thrown out of the hotel? Would the police be involved? It sounds unworkable and likely to create problems.
Meanwhile, the complementary offer (bars, restaurants etc.) are carrying on talks with the hotels over the latter being able to offer secondary activities that might conflict with those provided by businesses outside hotels. The complementary offer want this to only be possible for hotels which are open 320 days a year. Previously, it was said that the two sides had arrived at a consensus in moving the new tourism law forward, but it is hard to see how the hotels will agree to this demand.
Otherwise, there is agreement on the prohibition of food and drink being taken off of hotel premises and that if it were to be then hotels would not be held liable. There will be a reliance on information posters to tell guests not to take food and drink out, but this provision in the new law seems very difficult to impose. Who will stop guests doing so? How can they be stopped? If they didn't stop, would they (the guests) be thrown out of the hotel? Would the police be involved? It sounds unworkable and likely to create problems.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - New tourism law for the Balearics and Mallorca
The Balearic Government's proposals for reforming the tourism law have been presented for public consideration. The proposals, that have been widely publicised, include:
The new law also envisages far tougher sanctions against the "illegal offer" of tourism accommodation, with the government prepared to come down "tremendously hard" on such accommodation; fines could now rise to 400,000 euros.
- provision for condohotels,
- removal of administrative restraints (largely as they apply to hotels),
- change of use of obsolete hotel stock so that dwellings of 90 square metres can be created,
- tourism use of buildings "catalogued" as such,
- commercialisation of holiday homes, of the type that has become popular in Pollensa.
The new law also envisages far tougher sanctions against the "illegal offer" of tourism accommodation, with the government prepared to come down "tremendously hard" on such accommodation; fines could now rise to 400,000 euros.
Friday, September 30, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Meliá plans a revolution for Magalluf
Meliá Hotels International have announced that their plans for redeveloping three hotels in Magalluf will go very much further. Seven hotels are included in a scheme that will see two or three converted for residential, condohotel use (one of them, the Sol Jamaica, will be demolished and rebuilt) as well as a new boulevard, a beach club and installations for cycling tourism. The company envisages an initial investment of 135 million euros in what is a highly ambitious scheme to regenerate one of Mallorca's main resorts.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
At A Fraction Of The Cost
Amongst the proposals for the new tourism law due to be enacted next year is one to allow for fractional ownership of hotel accommodation. The concept is one that, at first glance, might raise alarm bells - oh, oh, timeshare. The alarms would, however, be rung falsely. Fractional does not mean timeshare as it involves actually owning part of the bricks and mortar as opposed to a block of time, though time is, nevertheless, a factor.
Fractional ownership has become well-established, especially in the US. The concept was initially used, as far as the property market was concerned, in Colorado's ski resorts. It is something normally for a high-net-worth upper market, rather than the great unwashed of the mass tourism market. But it doesn't have to be and can range from three to five-star style accommodation.
The diffusion of fractional ownership into the European property market has been relatively slow, but it has been gathering pace. What it offers is an opportunity to acquire a holiday home in the knowledge that shares in the property can be sold on.
Of fractional-ownership opportunities currently available in Europe, two give an example of the sort of money that they can command. A residence in a Tuscan hamlet will set you back a minimum of 63,000 pounds; a golf resort on the Algarve comes in at no less than 79,500 pounds (or only 79,500 pounds if you prefer). It depends how much use you want to make of the property, but typically four weeks per year are about what you would get for your money.
Where fractional ownership has been applied to hotels, it has generally been in the form of private residence clubs, i.e. exclusive five-star complexes with all the trimmings you could pretty much hope for. They certainly aren't cheap. If this model of exclusivity were to be followed, their sheer expense draws into question just how much impact they might have in Mallorca.
The tourism ministry would have us believe that within three years some form of revolution will have occurred in Mallorca's tourism, based on hotel conversions into fractionals or condos. As far as the condo is concerned, it is bought outright and used as and when the owner wishes (though this can be limited if the hotel closes), making it more flexible than a fractional. Whereas fractional properties tend to imply something grand, such as a suite with three or four bedrooms, a condo can be as small as a studio apartment.
Condos can be sold as private residences within existing hotel-apartment buildings, which is what Meliá Hotels International appear to be planning for one of the hotels in their projected Magalluf megacomplex (the Royal Beach in all likelihood). Such a mix of regular tourism accommodation and private ownership could also apply to fractionals, though at the more exclusive end of the market (the private residence club), the anticipation would probably be to have fractional owners only.
In wider terms, both fractionals and condos hint at benefits. They are not, for example, all-inclusives. Might they also help to break the cycle of seasonality? The suggestion is that they would be available in winter, especially at Christmas and New Year times. But would they be? It is unclear whether a hotel would actually stay open out of season (which it would have to, as it would be managing the property).
What is also unclear is how much demand there would actually be. The high-end fractional is said to attract considerable interest, partly because it offers a good investment opportunity and partly because of its exclusivity. But what of other levels of the market?
The impact of fractionals and condos will depend on a number of things: the costs, the constraints, the locations and the accommodation itself. To what extent either will amount to the sort of transformation the tourism ministry envisages, time will tell, and it will take longer than three years. In the meantime, though, everywhere else is gearing up for fractionals and condos. Where, for example, is there already a fabulous fractional complex? Egypt.
There is one other issue. Though the fractional is not the same as a timeshare, it is near enough to bear similarities. Which brings us to how fractionals might be sold. Timeshare has a dirty name in Mallorca, because of the past tactics of certain operators in certain resorts. If fractionals are to be part of the way forward for Mallorca's tourism, then their sale needs to be strictly controlled and regulated. If not: "Here, have a scratch card; oh look, you've won a prize, all you need to do is to come along to our office ... ."
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Fractional ownership has become well-established, especially in the US. The concept was initially used, as far as the property market was concerned, in Colorado's ski resorts. It is something normally for a high-net-worth upper market, rather than the great unwashed of the mass tourism market. But it doesn't have to be and can range from three to five-star style accommodation.
The diffusion of fractional ownership into the European property market has been relatively slow, but it has been gathering pace. What it offers is an opportunity to acquire a holiday home in the knowledge that shares in the property can be sold on.
Of fractional-ownership opportunities currently available in Europe, two give an example of the sort of money that they can command. A residence in a Tuscan hamlet will set you back a minimum of 63,000 pounds; a golf resort on the Algarve comes in at no less than 79,500 pounds (or only 79,500 pounds if you prefer). It depends how much use you want to make of the property, but typically four weeks per year are about what you would get for your money.
Where fractional ownership has been applied to hotels, it has generally been in the form of private residence clubs, i.e. exclusive five-star complexes with all the trimmings you could pretty much hope for. They certainly aren't cheap. If this model of exclusivity were to be followed, their sheer expense draws into question just how much impact they might have in Mallorca.
The tourism ministry would have us believe that within three years some form of revolution will have occurred in Mallorca's tourism, based on hotel conversions into fractionals or condos. As far as the condo is concerned, it is bought outright and used as and when the owner wishes (though this can be limited if the hotel closes), making it more flexible than a fractional. Whereas fractional properties tend to imply something grand, such as a suite with three or four bedrooms, a condo can be as small as a studio apartment.
Condos can be sold as private residences within existing hotel-apartment buildings, which is what Meliá Hotels International appear to be planning for one of the hotels in their projected Magalluf megacomplex (the Royal Beach in all likelihood). Such a mix of regular tourism accommodation and private ownership could also apply to fractionals, though at the more exclusive end of the market (the private residence club), the anticipation would probably be to have fractional owners only.
In wider terms, both fractionals and condos hint at benefits. They are not, for example, all-inclusives. Might they also help to break the cycle of seasonality? The suggestion is that they would be available in winter, especially at Christmas and New Year times. But would they be? It is unclear whether a hotel would actually stay open out of season (which it would have to, as it would be managing the property).
What is also unclear is how much demand there would actually be. The high-end fractional is said to attract considerable interest, partly because it offers a good investment opportunity and partly because of its exclusivity. But what of other levels of the market?
The impact of fractionals and condos will depend on a number of things: the costs, the constraints, the locations and the accommodation itself. To what extent either will amount to the sort of transformation the tourism ministry envisages, time will tell, and it will take longer than three years. In the meantime, though, everywhere else is gearing up for fractionals and condos. Where, for example, is there already a fabulous fractional complex? Egypt.
There is one other issue. Though the fractional is not the same as a timeshare, it is near enough to bear similarities. Which brings us to how fractionals might be sold. Timeshare has a dirty name in Mallorca, because of the past tactics of certain operators in certain resorts. If fractionals are to be part of the way forward for Mallorca's tourism, then their sale needs to be strictly controlled and regulated. If not: "Here, have a scratch card; oh look, you've won a prize, all you need to do is to come along to our office ... ."
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Necessity For Change: Tourism
Remarkable. Firstly, that I've got a good word for the Partido Popular; secondly, that it is displaying some uncommonly common sense. Where tourism is concerned, the PP have it over the other parties. They try not to obstruct where others do try. They make enemies along the way, and they are nowhere nearer striking a sensible balance between the needs of the established tourism industry (primarily the hotels) and those of the non-established, such as the holiday let business. But praise where praise is due.
A caveat. It was the hoteliers, in the form of the Mallorca hoteliers federation, that staged a conference entitled "Tourism, The Necessity For Change". Change, where the hotels are concerned, is change that's good for the hotels. Nevertheless, the outcomes of this conference are generally positive.
Amongst them is the likelihood that Meliá Hotels International will create a new "megacomplex" of four-star accommodation out of existing hotels (the Royal Beach, the Antillas Barbados and Mallorca Beach) and that this complex will be themed. The exact nature of this theming is not yet clear, but the wish to do so is one to be welcomed.
One hopes that the themes won't be of the Flintstones variety; please God, anything but this. What one does hope is that it might be of a "theme" that Mallorca is crying out for, an all-year, all-weather complex; the theme would be akin to the Center Parcs concept. One fears that it might not be, in which case it would be a huge missed opportunity, but we will see.
Another outcome is that the tourism minister Carlos Delgado is minded to go ahead in permitting hotels to stage concerts. He could hardly say that he wouldn't, having more or less single-handedly granted Mallorca Rocks its licences both as mayor of Calvia and now as tourism minister. He's made his concert hotel bed, and now he has to lie in it; in different hotels. But good for him.
A further move, and one well heralded, is that the time when the tourism law is changed to enable condohotels seems to be drawing ever nearer. But one detects the first rumblings of division and self-interest amongst different hoteliers. There needs to a minimum size for apartments that can be converted to residential use (90 square metres), or there needs to be a stipulation that they are from existing three to four-star stock, or there needs to be provision to make sure that condos aren't simply a "refuge for the obsolete".
One would have thought that a refuge from the obsolete was a very good reason for allowing condos, always assuming investment were forthcoming to make them of sufficiently good standard. If the condo does go ahead, and it seems unlikely that it won't, then this could be good news; residential apartments in hotels means that they won't be all-inclusive.
The other side to this is that the condo idea, around for some years, is being exposed as blatantly self-serving when you take into account the fierce opposition of the hotels to the holiday-let sector. Forget all the other spin, this is the real reason for that opposition; one that allows the hotels to have the cake of conversion and of a lucrative residential tourism market and eat it, too, to the point of their gorging themselves.
And then there is something else. The PP government's finance and business minister José Aguiló is flagging up an idea that is so sensible that is one that even ordinary Joe Soaps, who are neither members of governments nor anything in particular to do with the tourism industry, have thought up; and this is the idea of social-security breaks for businesses which lengthen the season, i.e. the likes of hotels which would stay open over winter.
The idea is such a no-brainer, one wonders why it has not been introduced and not even really discussed. One reason why it hasn't is because of the debilitating culture endemic among many Spaniards and Mallorcans (and indeed other nationalities that have come to live in Mallorca) that you work for six months and then live off the state for the other six. It's time for a cultural change and for an incentive for hotels to keep open, even on reduced staffs.
There is much to be positive about what the government has been saying these past few days. There is a "necessity for change". The necessity has existed for years, but complacency, lack of will, lack of strategic thought have all prevented it. We might just have reached a stage when everyone finally understands the necessity and will actually do something about it.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
A caveat. It was the hoteliers, in the form of the Mallorca hoteliers federation, that staged a conference entitled "Tourism, The Necessity For Change". Change, where the hotels are concerned, is change that's good for the hotels. Nevertheless, the outcomes of this conference are generally positive.
Amongst them is the likelihood that Meliá Hotels International will create a new "megacomplex" of four-star accommodation out of existing hotels (the Royal Beach, the Antillas Barbados and Mallorca Beach) and that this complex will be themed. The exact nature of this theming is not yet clear, but the wish to do so is one to be welcomed.
One hopes that the themes won't be of the Flintstones variety; please God, anything but this. What one does hope is that it might be of a "theme" that Mallorca is crying out for, an all-year, all-weather complex; the theme would be akin to the Center Parcs concept. One fears that it might not be, in which case it would be a huge missed opportunity, but we will see.
Another outcome is that the tourism minister Carlos Delgado is minded to go ahead in permitting hotels to stage concerts. He could hardly say that he wouldn't, having more or less single-handedly granted Mallorca Rocks its licences both as mayor of Calvia and now as tourism minister. He's made his concert hotel bed, and now he has to lie in it; in different hotels. But good for him.
A further move, and one well heralded, is that the time when the tourism law is changed to enable condohotels seems to be drawing ever nearer. But one detects the first rumblings of division and self-interest amongst different hoteliers. There needs to a minimum size for apartments that can be converted to residential use (90 square metres), or there needs to be a stipulation that they are from existing three to four-star stock, or there needs to be provision to make sure that condos aren't simply a "refuge for the obsolete".
One would have thought that a refuge from the obsolete was a very good reason for allowing condos, always assuming investment were forthcoming to make them of sufficiently good standard. If the condo does go ahead, and it seems unlikely that it won't, then this could be good news; residential apartments in hotels means that they won't be all-inclusive.
The other side to this is that the condo idea, around for some years, is being exposed as blatantly self-serving when you take into account the fierce opposition of the hotels to the holiday-let sector. Forget all the other spin, this is the real reason for that opposition; one that allows the hotels to have the cake of conversion and of a lucrative residential tourism market and eat it, too, to the point of their gorging themselves.
And then there is something else. The PP government's finance and business minister José Aguiló is flagging up an idea that is so sensible that is one that even ordinary Joe Soaps, who are neither members of governments nor anything in particular to do with the tourism industry, have thought up; and this is the idea of social-security breaks for businesses which lengthen the season, i.e. the likes of hotels which would stay open over winter.
The idea is such a no-brainer, one wonders why it has not been introduced and not even really discussed. One reason why it hasn't is because of the debilitating culture endemic among many Spaniards and Mallorcans (and indeed other nationalities that have come to live in Mallorca) that you work for six months and then live off the state for the other six. It's time for a cultural change and for an incentive for hotels to keep open, even on reduced staffs.
There is much to be positive about what the government has been saying these past few days. There is a "necessity for change". The necessity has existed for years, but complacency, lack of will, lack of strategic thought have all prevented it. We might just have reached a stage when everyone finally understands the necessity and will actually do something about it.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Good, The Bad And The Holiday Let
I'm going to give you a list of organisations. When you get to the end of the list, here are your questions - what do they have in common and what is missing? Here goes, and pay attention:
The hotel federations of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera; the association of hotel chains; the association for agrotourism; the Mallorca Tourism Board; the chambers of commerce in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza; the federation of local authorities; the University of the Balearic Islands; the associations of small and medium-sized businesses in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza (PIMEM); the association of travel agents; the school of hostelry; airlines; tour operators; unions.
Ok, if you have said they have all been invited to form part of the Balearics Tourism Agency, then have a banana. This is indeed what they all have in common.
Pretty big agency, huh? Yes, but a reason behind them all joining the agency is to avoid duplications in tourism efforts. So, credit where credit's due. The agency may now sound unwieldy, but better this than numerous bodies here and there doing their own things.
But what of the second question? What's missing? Need some help? Just look at the list again. Which are the really big players? Tour operators, airlines, yes, but also the hotels. Still don't know the answer? This is a tourism agency, don't forget. Tourism requires accommodation. Are you getting warmer?
Nowhere in this coming together of pretty much all those who matter in Mallorca and Balearics tourism is any representation of non-hotel accommodation: the holiday lets. The tour operators are one player that has an interest in this type of accommodation, others do to a degree as well, but otherwise there is no voice at all.
Why isn't there? The obvious answer is that there is no body to represent what is a highly fragmented part of the local tourism industry. Even if there were, how well organised it would be would be open to question. There are all sorts of reasons why owners of holiday lets might not wish to be part of an organisation. This aside, the chances are that it wouldn't be invited anyway.
Two summers ago some grand strategy talking-shop was meant to have been organised by the tourism ministry. It never actually met, but had it done there were to have been two key problems to be addressed, those of seasonality and holiday lets. While mostly anyone associated with the tourism industry would agree that seasonality is a serious problem, only certain parties openly state that holiday lets are. Who were due to have been involved in this strategy talking-shop? The hotels and unions for a kick-off. Both of them antagonistic towards holiday lets.
Amongst the organisations being pulled into the tourism ministry's agency now, there are few which might speak out in favour of non-hotel accommodation. You might hope that the university would offer an independent view, for example. But as for others, they will mostly tow the line, the one that the hotels, the unions and therefore also the tourism ministry promote: that holiday lets are a bad thing.
Not completely a bad thing, as the tour operators will be quick to point out. But their interests lie with the regulated and registered villas of Mallorca. The airlines might also point out that holiday lets are not a bad thing. What about PIMEM? Where would it stand on the issue?
PIMEM has a bar and restaurant division. PIMEM is quite vocal on different matters, such as all-inclusives. A bad thing, it has been saying recently. It has also been saying that permission for hotels to convert to condohotels would be a good thing.
A hundred or so hotels are already said to be planning to sell off rooms and apartments in anticipation of a change to the tourism law which would permit condohotels and which would therefore create a type of residential tourism, akin to holiday lets but to the hotels' advantage.
PIMEM reckons this is a good idea because it isn't all-inclusive and because it would benefit its restaurant members, given the type of tourist it would attract.
But this is precisely the same argument regarding holiday lets. Or one of them. So why doesn't PIMEM come out and support these? Probably for the same reason that the tourism ministry won't. It doesn't want to upset the hotels.
The newly constituted tourism agency is a good thing in many respects, but in one, that of a whole sector of the tourism industry, it isn't. The momentum against holiday lets is unlikely to let up. Unless there are now voices at the agency to say otherwise, it is likely to get very much stronger.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The hotel federations of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera; the association of hotel chains; the association for agrotourism; the Mallorca Tourism Board; the chambers of commerce in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza; the federation of local authorities; the University of the Balearic Islands; the associations of small and medium-sized businesses in Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza (PIMEM); the association of travel agents; the school of hostelry; airlines; tour operators; unions.
Ok, if you have said they have all been invited to form part of the Balearics Tourism Agency, then have a banana. This is indeed what they all have in common.
Pretty big agency, huh? Yes, but a reason behind them all joining the agency is to avoid duplications in tourism efforts. So, credit where credit's due. The agency may now sound unwieldy, but better this than numerous bodies here and there doing their own things.
But what of the second question? What's missing? Need some help? Just look at the list again. Which are the really big players? Tour operators, airlines, yes, but also the hotels. Still don't know the answer? This is a tourism agency, don't forget. Tourism requires accommodation. Are you getting warmer?
Nowhere in this coming together of pretty much all those who matter in Mallorca and Balearics tourism is any representation of non-hotel accommodation: the holiday lets. The tour operators are one player that has an interest in this type of accommodation, others do to a degree as well, but otherwise there is no voice at all.
Why isn't there? The obvious answer is that there is no body to represent what is a highly fragmented part of the local tourism industry. Even if there were, how well organised it would be would be open to question. There are all sorts of reasons why owners of holiday lets might not wish to be part of an organisation. This aside, the chances are that it wouldn't be invited anyway.
Two summers ago some grand strategy talking-shop was meant to have been organised by the tourism ministry. It never actually met, but had it done there were to have been two key problems to be addressed, those of seasonality and holiday lets. While mostly anyone associated with the tourism industry would agree that seasonality is a serious problem, only certain parties openly state that holiday lets are. Who were due to have been involved in this strategy talking-shop? The hotels and unions for a kick-off. Both of them antagonistic towards holiday lets.
Amongst the organisations being pulled into the tourism ministry's agency now, there are few which might speak out in favour of non-hotel accommodation. You might hope that the university would offer an independent view, for example. But as for others, they will mostly tow the line, the one that the hotels, the unions and therefore also the tourism ministry promote: that holiday lets are a bad thing.
Not completely a bad thing, as the tour operators will be quick to point out. But their interests lie with the regulated and registered villas of Mallorca. The airlines might also point out that holiday lets are not a bad thing. What about PIMEM? Where would it stand on the issue?
PIMEM has a bar and restaurant division. PIMEM is quite vocal on different matters, such as all-inclusives. A bad thing, it has been saying recently. It has also been saying that permission for hotels to convert to condohotels would be a good thing.
A hundred or so hotels are already said to be planning to sell off rooms and apartments in anticipation of a change to the tourism law which would permit condohotels and which would therefore create a type of residential tourism, akin to holiday lets but to the hotels' advantage.
PIMEM reckons this is a good idea because it isn't all-inclusive and because it would benefit its restaurant members, given the type of tourist it would attract.
But this is precisely the same argument regarding holiday lets. Or one of them. So why doesn't PIMEM come out and support these? Probably for the same reason that the tourism ministry won't. It doesn't want to upset the hotels.
The newly constituted tourism agency is a good thing in many respects, but in one, that of a whole sector of the tourism industry, it isn't. The momentum against holiday lets is unlikely to let up. Unless there are now voices at the agency to say otherwise, it is likely to get very much stronger.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Concrete And Clay
The condohotel concept seems to be the latest “big idea” (see previous – 22 November). Already operating in southern Spain, it looks set to be a feature in the Balearics as well. In today’s “Ultima Hora”, there is an interview with the central government’s tourism secretary-general. One never gets much information form these interviews, only ever headlines and rather vague ideas, but the condohotel does seem to be one on the agenda, and it could give a boost in the winter. Say could.
Otherwise, the secretary-general reckons that it would not be a bad idea if the “oferta complementaria” were to make an effort to stay open in the winter. By “oferta complementaria”, what is meant is, essentially, the bar-restaurant sector. The problem is she does not identify why except as part of some notion of market leadership. Responding to the fact that, although tourist number are up, the tourist spend is not, she believes that alternative and new niche markets that add value should be sought and that a tourist marketing vision is required as the competition is going to get stronger.
It would be harsh to be too harsh on her; the interview is hardly in-depth. But it would be instructive to ever get beyond the obvious and the nebulous. The condohotel idea seems potentially sound, though how widespread it would be and where it would be are other questions. When I hear that term “add value”, I always get somewhat twitchy. What and how much value being added to what precisely, and again where?
If the condohotels go ahead, I trust that their winter clientele can be assured of good heating. It is distinctly cold here at present.
Meanwhile, our old friends GOB, the environmental pressure group, has been handing out its annual gongs. A British naturalist, Nick Riddoford, has collected one for his work in Albufera, while among the recipients of the equivalent of the rotten tomatoes is – no surprises – the mayor of Muro in recognition of Son Bosc. This prize is actually named premio “Ciment”, which I take to be ciment as in the Catalan for cement. What jolly fun.
QUIZ
Yesterday – Dennis Brown. Today’s title – concrete may not be the same as cement, but with the condo angle, it’s as good as you’ll get. Who from the ‘60s?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Otherwise, the secretary-general reckons that it would not be a bad idea if the “oferta complementaria” were to make an effort to stay open in the winter. By “oferta complementaria”, what is meant is, essentially, the bar-restaurant sector. The problem is she does not identify why except as part of some notion of market leadership. Responding to the fact that, although tourist number are up, the tourist spend is not, she believes that alternative and new niche markets that add value should be sought and that a tourist marketing vision is required as the competition is going to get stronger.
It would be harsh to be too harsh on her; the interview is hardly in-depth. But it would be instructive to ever get beyond the obvious and the nebulous. The condohotel idea seems potentially sound, though how widespread it would be and where it would be are other questions. When I hear that term “add value”, I always get somewhat twitchy. What and how much value being added to what precisely, and again where?
If the condohotels go ahead, I trust that their winter clientele can be assured of good heating. It is distinctly cold here at present.
Meanwhile, our old friends GOB, the environmental pressure group, has been handing out its annual gongs. A British naturalist, Nick Riddoford, has collected one for his work in Albufera, while among the recipients of the equivalent of the rotten tomatoes is – no surprises – the mayor of Muro in recognition of Son Bosc. This prize is actually named premio “Ciment”, which I take to be ciment as in the Catalan for cement. What jolly fun.
QUIZ
Yesterday – Dennis Brown. Today’s title – concrete may not be the same as cement, but with the condo angle, it’s as good as you’ll get. Who from the ‘60s?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Blue Hotel
There are times when I almost lose the will to live, and not just because of England’s football team, about which more below. One more time with feeling, my friends, one more time ... winter tourism (or rather the lack thereof), “Euro Weekly”, unnamed spokesperson, “some help from the politicians and big tour operators would be welcomed”. For God’s sake - what? Offer a solution not a constant reiteration of the problem. Why the heck should the tour operators help?
Today’s EW piece refers also to the statement from the Mallorcan Hotel Federation that there are 250 hotels open on the island over the winter. I don’t know how they get to this figure, but I suspect there is a clue in what the tour operators are offering in winter. Thomson for example, who will not be flying into Palma from mid-January to end-February, have their winter offers. Among these are the Puerto Azul hotel in Puerto Pollensa. You cannot book this hotel in say December, but you can in March; Easter is early in 2008, in March in fact. March is winter, all of it in tourist-season terms. That’s probably how they get to that 250 figure. So, I have sympathy for those challenging this statistic. I also have great sympathy for those who would like to keep their businesses going and being profitable over winter, but I do think a bit of reality needs to come in; no, make that a lot of reality.
There is, however, a potential move afoot which may impact positively on year-round tourism, namely the introduction of so-called condohotels, meaning - I assume - that people could own their own rooms or more likely apartments in certain hotels. Could be a good idea.
Anyway - football. One positive that can be drawn from the fact that none of the teams from the British Isles will be competing in Euro 2008 is that there will be no excuse for holidaymakers staying at home for the footy and not coming to Mallorca. There again, no England, no Scotland, no Ireland etc., no crammed bars for matches. Can’t have it both ways, I suppose.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Billy Fury was the one I was thinking of, but there were others. Bobby Vee or Bobby Vinton I think. Goffin and King song anyway. Today’s title - apart from naming the artist, what specifically in today’s piece is “blue”?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Today’s EW piece refers also to the statement from the Mallorcan Hotel Federation that there are 250 hotels open on the island over the winter. I don’t know how they get to this figure, but I suspect there is a clue in what the tour operators are offering in winter. Thomson for example, who will not be flying into Palma from mid-January to end-February, have their winter offers. Among these are the Puerto Azul hotel in Puerto Pollensa. You cannot book this hotel in say December, but you can in March; Easter is early in 2008, in March in fact. March is winter, all of it in tourist-season terms. That’s probably how they get to that 250 figure. So, I have sympathy for those challenging this statistic. I also have great sympathy for those who would like to keep their businesses going and being profitable over winter, but I do think a bit of reality needs to come in; no, make that a lot of reality.
There is, however, a potential move afoot which may impact positively on year-round tourism, namely the introduction of so-called condohotels, meaning - I assume - that people could own their own rooms or more likely apartments in certain hotels. Could be a good idea.
Anyway - football. One positive that can be drawn from the fact that none of the teams from the British Isles will be competing in Euro 2008 is that there will be no excuse for holidaymakers staying at home for the footy and not coming to Mallorca. There again, no England, no Scotland, no Ireland etc., no crammed bars for matches. Can’t have it both ways, I suppose.
QUIZ
Yesterday - Billy Fury was the one I was thinking of, but there were others. Bobby Vee or Bobby Vinton I think. Goffin and King song anyway. Today’s title - apart from naming the artist, what specifically in today’s piece is “blue”?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
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