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.
In Panama 30 hotels are now working with an application that allows travelers to book and rent rooms for a number of hours and not for a full day.
In an attempt to raise their occupancy rate, which at the national level has not managed to exceed 45% in recent years, some hotels in Panama have started trying out alternatives.For example, an application made by the Spanish company ByHours, allows travelers to rent a room for 3, 6 or 12 hours, during any period of the day.
While occupancy rates and average prices continue to fall, the Panamanian hotel market is preparing to increase its supply by another 1,200 rooms at the end of the year.
The Panamanian Association of Hotels (Apatel) reports that in recent years there has been a 209% increase in the number of rooms available in the country, in contrast to demand which has only grown by 5% annually.
In Panama the increase in room supply has caused a price war between hotels trying to attract travelers and increase the occupancy rate which on average is not more than 60%.
Hotel occupancy in the country has been declining since 2011, when it stood at 68.6% dropping to 59.3% within the sector this year, according to figures from the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP).
The current occupancy rate of 57% can be explained by the increased supply of rooms and the relative decline of San Jose as a business destination.
The increased supply of hotel rooms in the capital is one of the reasons for the low level of occupancy, which as of January stood at 57%. This occurs mainly in hotels that attract business travelers or tourists who spend up to two nights prior to departure.
Beach hotels recorded the highest occupancy of 74.1%, local mountain hotels had 70.24% and those in the city had an occupancy of 69.23%.
Although the expectation of 78% occupancy projected by the National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) was not reached, it was the highest average level in the last four years.
From a press release by the National Chamber of Tourism Canatur:
There are currently 812 hotels registered offering a total of 18,500 beds in 11,200 rooms, which in 2012 had an occupancy rate of 66%.
A total of 432 new hotels were built between 2006 and 2012, representing an increase of 113.6%. At the end of 2012, the country had 11,189 rooms.
Data provided by the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN) reveals that last year (2012) occupancy rates in the country were 66% ."Before we did not know much about the hotel industry, with all this support we can see that the hotels that are emerging are characterized by customer services, the attention, the measurements of the rooms, meals, in short, I think it has improved a lot," said Sandra Mejia , president of the Association of Small Hotels of Nicaragua (Hopen).
During the first four months of 2013 the convention and congress sector revived the hotel sector which recorded an average occupancy of 61%.
Prensa.com reports that "in total, between January and April 831,593 visitors were reported, which is an increase of 4.4% with 34,893 additional travelers compared to the same period last year."It is estimated that during this period about $847.7 million entered the Panamanian economy.
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".
An oversupply of rooms, the competition of "vacation rentals", Liberia airport, and the lack of an international convention center, are factors affecting the profitability of hotels in the capital.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that "The average rate for a standard double room in the small three star hotel in the capital, Rincon de San Jose, dropped from $52.5 in 2011 to $49 in 2013.
As new projects are announced, especially in the metropolitan area, the average occupancy rate decreased from 55% in 2011 to 54.1% in 2012.
Crhoy.com reports that "While the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels (CCH) declares that there is low hotel occupancy, new projects are being drafted, primarily in the Central Valley, even though various sectors assert that demand does not justify the increased supply."
Just two hotel groups showed an increase in December, with a variation of 0.8% in hotels with 51-100 rooms and 6.6% in those with more than 100 rooms.
From the Hotel Occupancy Survey by the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels:
December occupancy was lower than expected
During December the annual change in hotel occupancy showed a negative change although less than the previous months, which was -2.2 pp, with the monthly average dropping to 59.9%.
During 2012 investment in the hotel sector was $433 million, and the average occupancy rate fell to 59% from 69% in 2011.
The selection of hotels in Panama continues to grow faster than demand, which is reflected in figures released by the Tourism Authority (ATP by its initials in Spanish) which indicate that in 2012 the overall hotel occupancy rate stood at 59%, 10% less than in the same period in 2011, noted an article in Capital.com.pa.
The hotel industry ended the year with an occupancy rate of 65.5% in December, below expectations of 70%.
According to a survey conducted by the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels, the low occupancy rate was recorded both at the beach hotels as well as mountain resorts.
"As usual, the most sought after hotels are on the beach. Occupation in this sector was 84%, although in 2011 it reached 97%.
In 2014 the number of hotel rooms in Panama on offer will exceed 17,000, for which an inevitable price war is foreseen.
The other problem revealed to entrepreneurs is the lack of skilled labor to service clients in sophisticated environments where mastering a second languages is essential.
The Panamanian inventory of hotel rooms in 2010 indicated the supply of 10,000 rooms.