Distribuzione e Revenue

💸 Blastness has introduced a unique RMS feature allowing hoteliers to differentiate pricing strategies between their official website and intermediaries, aiming to maximize returns and reduce OTA impact on online sales. The RMS tool, powered by multi-source analysis and artificial intelligence algorithms, provides accurate forecasts and optimal rate variations, supporting a “hybrid” approach that blends rule-based, algorithmic, and manual strategies. This RMS functionality helps hotels target specific customer segments and enhance their website's conversion potential.

🎄 Partnerships between hotel and fashion or art brands are increasing, as highlighted by TTG Luxury's "Winter edition". Alviero Martini 1A Classe teamed up with Melià Milano, showcasing a large tree with designer gift boxes. Andrea Crespi partnered with Hotel Savoy Firenze, creating a Christmas tree from 6,100 playing cards and displaying his "Rinascimento invisibile" exhibition until mid-January 2025. The Hotel de la Ville Rocco Forte in Rome worked with Brioni on a festive decor, while the Hotel de Russie Rocco Forte "dressed" its Christmas tree in collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana. The Four Seasons Hotel Prague featured a Dior-decorated Christmas tree and a special afternoon tea experience. In London, Brown’s Hotel Rocco Forte collaborated with Golden Goose, offering a "Golden Dream" package including a two-night stay and iconic sneakers. Dubai's One&Only The Palm partnered with Elie Saab, showcasing three metallic trees in its hall.

📌 easyJet focuses on Milano Linate and Roma Fiumicino for the 2025 season, launching 16 new routes from Milan (+145% capacity over 2024) and 5 from Rome (+35%). The airline maintains Milan Malpensa as its European base, also introducing routes to Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Evenes-Lofoten, and Paris Orly. Lorenzo Lagorio, easyJet Italy country manager, highlights a 50% expansion in German routes and 14 million summer seats in Italy. New flights start on March 30; Milan will focus on Spain in summer, Rome on Mitteleuropa. easyJet closed 2024 with a capacity of 100 million seats (+8% from 2023), 88.6 million passengers (+8%), a stable load factor at 89.3%, and an operating profit exceeding 738 million euros (+34%).

🏠 Italians favor Paris as their top travel destination, with Notre-Dame's reopening boosting bookings: global bookings rose 8% for inauguration weekend (7-9 December) and 11% year-over-year. Italian bookings, mainly from Rome and Milan, represent 21% of the total. Amsterdam, London, Barcelona, and Prague follow Paris in popularity. Tenerife leads with an 81% booking increase, followed by Istanbul (+79%) and Sharm el Sheikh (+64%). Early planning is common: 43% of Italians book 61-90 days in advance, 31% book even earlier, and 27% book 60-37 days ahead. For stay duration, 40% opt for 3-4 days, 19% for 5-6 days, with 34% choosing longer holidays (26% stay 7-13 days, 8% over two weeks), and 7% for 2-day trips. French and Spanish tourists, each comprising 24% of holiday bookings, favor Italy, followed by Germans at 13%, with Rome leading and Bologna, Catania, Palermo, Bari, and Turin gaining interest. (Source: www.edreams.it)

🏖️ The study by Altiant for Iltm, with contributions from World of Hyatt focusing on wellness, reveals affluent travelers prefer spending on experiential luxury rather than durable goods. Post-Covid, there's an urgency to 'do it now' spending among the economically able. Domestic and regional travels dominate preferences, especially in large countries such as China and the USA, with domestic travel involving 47% of affluent tourists in the USA and 78% in China. For UK and French Europeans, regional travel includes all of Europe, with a 94% preference rate. In contrast, 84% of luxury travelers in the UAE stay within the country, while Saudi travelers have more varied choices. This domestic travel trend is partly due to complexities of long-haul travel and a desire for slow, quiet travel that suits shorter distances. For more information, visit Altiant's travel section, Iltm, and Hyatt websites.

🏖️ Rome and Milan rank 4th and 5th in Euromonitor International's top 100 urban destinations, with Paris leading for the fourth consecutive time, attracting over 70 million tourists this year. The top ten features six European cities, including Madrid (2nd), Tokyo (3rd), followed by New York, Amsterdam, Sydney, Singapore, and Barcelona. London falls from 10th in 2023 to 13th. The index evaluates global cities on economic and business performance, tourism infrastructure, policy, attractiveness, health, safety, and sustainability.

🏖️ Advance bookings surged to 60% for holiday trips, with an average duration of 8.2 days and an average expenditure of €2,400 per person. Revenue growth of 12% was observed for Christmas and New Year holidays, compared to the previous year. Popular destinations include the Red Sea, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and long-haul locations like the Maldives and China. Optimistic revenue growth predictions for 2025 range between 5-7%. Data was provided by ASTOI Confindustria Viaggi in Rome on December 6, 2024.

🏠 Lindbergh Hotels, founded by Nardo Filippetti, saw a +10% revenue increase in summer 2024, reaching €29 million, despite no longer including one of its previous properties. Pesaro, named a city of culture in 2024, contributed to the success with hotels like the 4-star Charlie hotel and the 5-star Excelsior Spa e Lido, now part of Preferred Hotel e Resorts. The group's properties across Italy, including Sicily's Sikania Eco Resort and Modica Beach Resort, and Taormina's renovated Grand Hotel San Pietro, experienced robust occupancy from mid-April to mid-October.

💹 Skift Research, in September 2024, predicts direct digital channels will overtake OTAs by 2030, with direct bookings increasing from 25% in 2024 to 42% in 2030. Max Starkov highlights systemic issues, noting hotels invest only 2.6% of room revenue in technology and less than 2.5% in marketing, compared to OTAs' 15% in technology and up to 54% in marketing. Strategies suggested include boosting technology investment, enhancing marketing, and training staff in digital skills for hotels to compete effectively and increase direct bookings.

🏡 Orient Express La Minerva, the world's first Orient Express Hotel, is set to debut in spring 2025 in Rome, near the Pantheon. The five-star luxury hotel, housed in the 1620-built Palazzo Fonseca, will offer 93 luxury rooms and suites following its acquisition by Arsenale Spa in 2021. Room sizes range from 25 to 235 square meters, including 36 suites and 4 Signature Suites with rates from 1,000 euros for classic rooms to 15,000 euros for Signature Suites. The hotel also features Mediterranean cuisine at Voliera restaurant and bar, a lobby lounge bar, a speakeasy, patisserie, wine cellar, and a spa.