Although most activities in the country reopened at the end of August, hotel occupancy levels are still low and business people fear they will be forced to cut more jobs or close operations.
Adapting spaces in the restaurant area, selling themselves to tourists as a clean and safe establishment, are some of the strategies that hotel sector businessmen plan to apply in order to adjust to the new commercial reality resulting from the health emergency.
The spread of covid-19 has forced health authorities to restrict the mobility of people and to close several establishments, with hotels being one of the most affected.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts signed an agreement to open a new facility at the Captalino World Trade Center complex by mid-2020.
Hilton San Salvador will have 198 rooms, 27 meeting rooms, two ballrooms, two boardrooms and 16 meeting units. The building is located in Colonia Escalon.
The 130-room Marriott Fairfield hotel started operations at the La Gran Vía shopping center in San Salvador.
With an investment of $17 million, the developer Urbánica opened the doors of the new Marriott Fairfield hotel.The property will focus on the business tourism segment as does the Marriott Courtyard, developed in the same area.
The union of hotel projects has increased the number of rooms available this year by 300 and in 2018 it is estimated there will be a further 100.
The expansion plans of existing hotels and construction of new ones were announced by officials at the Salvadoran Association of Hotels (ASH), which stated that the new rooms will be located"...
The US budget accommodation group G6 Hospitality has announced that within five years it will build ten hotels in Belize, Costa Rica and Panama.
From a statement issued by G6 Hospitality:
DALLAS, Jan. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- G6 Hospitality, known for its iconic economy lodging brands, Motel 6 and Studio 6 in the U.S. and Canada, today announced that it is extending its footprint to Central America.
Central America is in the lead with a 34% average price growth of hotel reservations recorded in the region, while in North America it was 18% and in South America 14%.
From the Transhotel-HOSTELTUR Barometer published by Hosteltur:
The average price of hotel reservations in America during the first quarter of this year was $680, representing an increase of 20% according to the first edition of "Transhotel-HOSTELTUR".
The storms that have hit Central America in last ten days have affected the sector which makes up 8% of GDP in the region.
As well as the decline in tourist arrivals, there are also substantial damages to infrastructure with collapsed roads and bridges, making it impossible to achieve growth targets set for this year.
The Minister of Tourism in El Salvador, Jose Napoleon Duarte, said, "People who had trips scheduled this month have not traveled. No one has been thinking of traveling and this will completely overthrow all of the statistics at the end of the year. It is better to speak with sincerity. "
The major hotel chains have cut their prices by up to 50% on weekends.
The Minister for Tourism has received a combined proposal from the hotel chains Crowne Plaza, Real Intercontinental, Sheraton Presidente, Holiday Inn, Hilton Princess and Courtyard Marriott together with the Salvadoran Chamber of Tourism (Casatur).
The deal, available until 31 December, aims to stimulate national and regional tourism.
The country’s hotel industry, one of the hardest-hit by the crisis, called for the Government to invest more in promoting the country as a touristic destination.
In the capital city of San Salvador, hotel occupancy has been recovering, although slightly, as a result of increased business and conventions tourism. However, hotel owners argue that more must be done to promote recreational tourism.
The hotel sector has begun 2009 with a fall from between 5 to 7%.
In its website, Elsalvador publishes: "Furthermore, at the juncture of economic deceleration, have been burdened with the focalization effect of the energy subsidy, which will have a strong impact in the costs of hotel operation,´ indicated Quiñónez. ´It is estimated that it will be at least 60 percent.´"
According to data from the Salvadoran Association of Hotels, domestic hotel occupancy has dropped 25% in the last few months of 2008.
Elmundo.com.sv reports: "The president of the Salvadoran Association of Hotels, Alberto Ascencio, said that since August the sector began to be affected by the financial crisis which caused hotel visits in the interior to decrease considerably.
The Ministry of Tourism officially presented the Data Tour Statistics Information System.
The system, financed through an agreement with the Secretariat of Tourism in Mexico (SECTUR) is a tool which will facilitate, generate and use statistics from the Salvadoran Hotel Sector.
The article by Guadalupe Hernandez on Elsalvador.com says that: "The model, which was officially delivered by Sector to Ruben Rochi, minister of Tourism and President of the Salvadoran Tourism Corporation, which will allow the measuring of 21 indicators for the Hotel industry. These include: average stay, rooms registered, tourist arrival, rooms available and others.