The 2013 edition of Expotur is to receive 180 representatives from international companies at the Hotel Wyndham San Jose Herradura on the 9th and 10th of May.
A statement from the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (ACOPROT) reads:
Country's Main Tourism Exchange Market Prepares its XXIX Edition
- From 9th to 11th the 29th edition of Expotur will be held at the Convention Center at the Hotel Wyndham San Jose Herradura.
During the meeting of small hotels which is taking place in Costa Rica, representatives from 17 countries will sign the formation of an Inter American Network.
A statement from the National Network of Small Hotels (REDNAPH) reads:
Today will see the creation of the Inter-American Network of Small Hotels, as part of the First Meeting of Small Hotels in America and the Caribbean.
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".
From 18th to 20th June, the Foodservice Expo will be held in the Pedregal Event Center in Costa Rica.
From information published by Expo Hotels & Restaurants (Exphore):
The Expo Hotels and Restaurants (Exphore), has become the best choice for suppliers and customers to meet in Central America.
Exphore, the exhibition which brings together providers in the hospitality sector in Costa Rica and Central America, will hold its 13th edition with a growth of 30%, ensuring that visitors will find even more products and business opportunities.
On 18th and 19th of April Latin American small hoteliers in Costa Rica will meet to discuss issues such as competitiveness, promotion and marketing, and accommodation in small centers.
"Owners of small hotels in the Latin American region with a minimum of five rooms and a maximum of 50 will gather together on 18th and 19th of April at the Hotel Radisson Zurquí in Barrio Tournon," reported Elfinancierocr.com.
The mandatory stop at reception is being eliminated in favor of computerized registration and welcome processes.
This is what happens for example in small boutique hotels in Amsterdam, London and Glasgow, Scotland, where guests check in at a kiosk and go directly to their rooms, only stopping to talk to a hotel clerk if they have any questions. In other cases, guests make reservations online, by e-mail in order to get their room allocation and the key code.
The hotel chain La Quinta has announced an agreement with the Honduran Grupo Santos to open eight hotels in the region, starting with an establishment in Tegucigalpa, to open in 2014.
San Pedro Sula, Comayagua, Choluteca, and Roatan are other Honduran cities where La Quinta plans to have hotels.
The capital of Nicaragua, Panama and Guatemala are also on the list of cities which will have establishments belonging to the U.S. network.
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 the last two years Costa Rican companies supplying products for hotels have seen their sales to Panama rise by up to 35%.
The export of products such as toiletries, linens, rugs and pillows and cooling equipment for hotels, grew by 18% this year up to August, according to the study entitled "Opportunities for the Costa Rican industry specializing in the hospitality industry of Panama" conducted by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer).
From the 28 June up until today more than 150 representatives from the tourism industry have been gathering at the headquarters of the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism.
The forum aims to update businessmen grouped under the umbrella of the Federation of Small Hotels with regards to the use of social networking and electronic commerce as tools to boost sales.
A report by the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero summarizes the main areas that travellers use to qualify a hotel as good or bad.
The report entitled "#Hotelfacts or how to add value to a hotel stay", summarizes the research in the form of some recommendations that any hotel can apply to aspects directly related to improving the customer’s experience, and to help to increase competitiveness.
The Colombian Decameron Group is expanding its investments in Latin America in 2012, including the opening of two hotels in Costa Rica and one in Panama.
In Costa Rica, Decameron will open this year a 330-room Royal Decameron Irazu in San Jose, and one in Jaco Beach, with 130 rooms.
"In April, they will open the first Hard Rock hotel in Central and South America, which will be located in Panama and will have 1,463 rooms.
The Chinese are in third place in terms of expenditure on travel, just behind the United States and Germany. By 2015 they will be in second place.
According to the latest Global Trends Report, spending on accommodation by Chinese tourists in 2011 will amount to around $57 billion, ranking them third behind the Americans and Germans.
By 2015 the volume of expenditure is expected to increase by17%, to $67 billion.
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 country will host from today until September 29 the IX Central American Forum of Small Hotels.
Organized by the Central Federation of Small Hotels (FECAPH), the event brings together the region's hoteliers to define strategies to improve competitiveness.
"In parallel, a "Provider’s Fair " will also be running, which aims to improve infrastructure investments.