Hoteliers from Puebla expect to reach 60% occupancy in December

Puebla, Pue. Until next December, the hotel sector expects to reach 60% of the average occupancy that existed before the Covid-19 pandemic, while currently they remain at 45% and with no plans to hire more staff in the remainder of the year.

The president of the Poblana Association of Hotels and Motels, Manuel Domínguez Gabián, commented that the high vacation season, which was summer, left the 300 members with low income due to the fifth wave of the pandemic, so now they must assess how face the rest of the year without affecting its operations.

However, he said that they are having a high turnover, up to 50%, because people are looking for other jobs with better income and are even trying to go to beach destinations.

He mentioned that in December the occupation could improve, due to the Christmas holidays.

He recalled that in 2020, 15 hotels closed temporarily as they did not resist the economic crisis as a result of the pandemic, which caused the dismissal of 450 people, a figure that has been recovered at least by the reopening of eight of those establishments.

national holidays

Domínguez Gabián commented that in this month of September they do not foresee improvements in tourism, since the national holidays fall during the week and, therefore, people will avoid going on a trip.

Despite the difficult situation that hoteliers are going through, he explained that they will maintain the 50% discounts on lodging, which has not brought more tourism, as they thought.

He insisted that the state government requires greater promotion of tourist attractions as they are doing in other entities, which are at 50% hotel occupancy.

“We need a signal to be sent to the rest of the country that Puebla is open to tourism, since we comply to the letter with all health measures by service providers,” he said.

Together, the 300 members of the association register between 10,000 and 12,000 rooms in Puebla and its metropolitan area, generating 5,000 direct jobs and 4,000 indirect jobs.