Between 2010 and 2015 the number of tourist accommodation establishments went up by 73%, and the total number of available rooms increased by 53%.
Data from the Central American Integration System (SICA) indicates that in 2010 Nicaragua registered 8,880 rooms and had 771 business establishments used to accommodate tourists.At the close of 2015, there were almost 14 thousand rooms and 1,057 establishments such as hotels, hostels and cabins.
This year 11 new hotels are expected to open, adding 696 more rooms in different parts of the country, with an estimated investment of $149 million.
Details from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) show that there are 11 establishments in the process of completing paperwork with the entity to declare themselves of tourist interest.
On October 12 in Managua entrepreneurs will be meeting to discuss issues such as hotel operations, techniques for hotel marketing and use, and the advantages of new technologies.
The event is being organized by the Hotel Association of Nicaragua (Ashotnic) and will be held at the Hotel Crowne Plaza Convention Center.
Elnuevodiario.com.ni reports that "...The Ashotnic's goal is to surpass the results achieved in the edition of the fair in 2015, which was attended by 50 companies, who promoted 80 brands of hotel services, and accessories for that sector. "
Up to December 2015 2.559 hotels with 47,452 rooms were registered in the country, of which 70% are located in the city and at the beach.
Market figures have not yet reached the levels recorded before the crisis of 2008, when the Costa Rican Chamber of Hotels counted 2,599 hotels in operation, spread across different areas of the country, but are instead concentrated in the large metropolitan area and coastal areas.
Although the number of tourists coming to Panama City continues to grow, there is still an oversupply of rooms, and in the last 3 years average occupancy has fallen by 10%.
The prevailing oversupply in the sector has begun to affect hotels, whose financial profits have been reduced by 20%. Currently the supply of rooms is 40 thousand, 8000 more than in and 2009 and although the number of tourists arriving in the country has not reduced, the percentage of unoccupied hotel rooms has reached 45%. The Panamanian Chamber of Tourism recognizes that the situation is worrying and is demanding institutional action in order to increase occupancy by 2015.
Having hotel guests take home a product marked with your name or brand is the best way to differentiate yourself from competitors.
Competition is very tough and the internet has made global hotel deals transparent, so positively differentiating yourself and making clients remember you is vital for getting a return stay at your hotel.
Julie Weed's article (The New York Times), published in Elnuevodiario.com.ni, remarks that it is no longer enough to have bathrobes, bedding and pillows monogrammed if you want to secure the hotel brand in the customer's mind and make them decide to return.
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.