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Promos, fast wi-fi and up to six people per room: hotel accommodations fight inflation

2023-03-25T19:59:38.654Z


Half remain in the City. The post-pandemic decrease in customers was added to the impact of the price increase.


What is life in hotel accommodations?

Is the sector in extinction after the pandemic shock?

How is your current situation?

"

Of course it is not in the process of extinction

, only that its situation, like that of many other items, depends on the economic ups and downs of the country... But

its permanence is not in danger

at all," says Juan Manuel Capelo, president. of the Argentine Federation of Accommodation Hotels (FADAPH).

In this vein are Carlos Lalín, Alberto López and Sergio Ramos, owners of several hotels in the Federal Capital and the province of Buenos Aires.

"We don't think about giving up, we fight every day to have the best possible service, but we fight against windmills, which are property values ​​in this city. Do you know the number of real estate developments that ended up buying temporary

shelters?

But here we are, putting our chests to the situation and trying to get ahead," they tell

Clarín

.

In Buenos Aires, 100 hotel accommodations have closed recently.

There are around 700 establishments in the country.

Photo Enrique Garcia Medina

"

The home office also attacked the sector

, there are fewer people entering the city, there are downtown offices that stopped working and

all those people were potential hotel users

," Capelo says.

"I'm talking about the city of Buenos Aires, because in the interior they work better, simply, because there are fewer activities and entertainment, with which

the hotel continues to be a

chosen

getaway

".

In Argentina there are 700 transitory shelters,

of which 50% are located between the Capital and Greater Buenos Aires.

In CABA there are 100 and in GBA around 300. "In the city there were 200 establishments, but

between the new constructions and the consequences of the pandemic, 100 hotels came down

," says Capelo.

The advance of real estate developments, with their tempting offers, were impossible for the former owners to reject, who also had to face being

closed for seven months

, without earning a single peso during the pandemic.

"How do you fight against that?" Capelo and López wonder.

"I also received juicy offers -says Lalín- but

I decided not to sell any of my hotels.

I have been doing this for 36 years, I have my shirt on... I buy, not sell. In a way, selling is weaken the sector and notice that we are less and less...

Hotel that falls, hotel that does not return

".

"This hotel hates pedophiles and child molesters. If the presence of a minor is verified, the police will be notified immediately," warns the Unica hostel. Photo: Enrique García Medina

A statistical fact to understand the panorama: the last 3 hotel accommodations that

were inaugurated in the city of Buenos Aires were more than 30 years ago:

 Faraón opened its doors in 1993, Plenty in 1991 and Otello in 1988. "Did you know that the hostel transitory is the only item that the authorization depends on the head of government? -López and Ramos let know with a smile-.

Can you believe that an ordinance issued by (Osvaldo) Cacciatore during the dictatorship is still in force?

".


Public there is, money is scarce

Chloe is 25 years old, she is a business employee and, with ease, she says that she is a regular at hotel accommodations.

"I started at 20 and the truth is that I like it, it's a good plan,

one is always expecting to find something different, there is also the fantasy of the search.

It is true that sometimes there are some farting places and you get disappointed, but we try with my eventual partners not to lower the level".

Chloe says that she likes

to "make her whole."

Dinner, overnight and breakfast.

"On the one hand it's like you

flash

that you are, at least one night, elsewhere as if it were a vacation, but it's also good to

pretend to have a mini-living

with your partner."

However, the young woman remarks, "the issue of money is uphill,

there are times when we feel like it but we don't have 6, 7 Lucas available.

And the truth is that they are not cheap, eh, some of them get out of hand."

"In a room you can never miss a large mirror or a jacuzzi", say the owners of the establishments.

Photo: Enrique Garcia Medina

Victoria (47) is a teacher, has been married for twelve years and has a pre-adolescent son.

"My husband doesn't like to talk about this, he's embarrassed, but

he's the one who takes the initiative and I like when he surprises me.

We go to a hotel once every two months... Until a year ago we went every three weeks , but

it was difficult for us economically

, "says the neighbor of Villa Luro.

The teacher confesses that when she was single she had never gone to a temporary shelter.

"It's something my husband instilled in me after the third or fourth year of marriage and we try not to lose that habit, even if it costs us to pay for it, because we like to go to beautiful places, where we feel comfortable and where it's worth it."

She describes it as "

a fantasy day every time I know we're going

. My mood changes, just as it does when we can't go because we don't have availability."

Privacy is very jealous in the hotel accommodations: in the parking lots there are curtains so that they do not see the license plates of the cars.

Photo: Enrique Garcia Medina

Alfredo (61) please asks that his photo and last name not appear.

"I know that it is not a crime to go to the

telo

, but hey, big man, who dyes himself to appear more youthful -he is celebrated-. All my life I went to the shelters,

it is the most glorious invention of humanity, the theme is that life has become very expensive,

very uphill," describes this newsstand from Congress.

Single and declared

a womanizer

, Alfredo confesses that "the best experience was a few months before the pandemic

, when I went with two girls and we had ten of us.

At that time I could invite, today I'm in the red... Note that this year I still haven't I went. Since I'm going to the same place, they tell me that they can discount me 30%, but that's not enough for me."

capsize and uncertainty

Who invests in a hotel accommodation today?

Alberto López, an experienced person in the field, responds with a question:

"Who has the money to buy a building and adapt it to the conditions? 

Because a hotel by the hour requires, to start talking, a parking lot. Nobody is willing to do such an investment in the economic conditions of this country.


The sector has been dragging years

of stagnation, shrinking and a logical restlessness in the future

.

"We had months of great anxiety, of uncertainty, of not knowing how our activity would behave again after the pandemic. And the truth is that we were

pleasantly surprised

, because little by little people were returning, although not at pre-pandemic levels" , asserts Sergio Ramos, linked to the union for 35 years.

"Today's demands have nothing to do with those of 20 years ago, when a little red lamp and a large mirror were enough."

Photo: Enrique Garcia Medina

Capelo estimates that "activity is

15% below the levels that it was up to 2019.

For us it is a significant number in a country where inflation twists your neck and there is less and less money in the pocket of Argentines " .

López is more crude and says that

"30% less work is being done

than before the pandemic", a figure with which his colleague Ramos agrees.

How much does it cost to go to a

telo

?

A 4-hour shift from Sunday to Thursday (or 2 hours on Friday, Saturday and the eve of holidays) in a standard establishment

costs between 4,000 and 6,000 pesos

, depending on the neighborhood.

To stay overnight, also according to the day, you have to pay

an additional between 5,000 and 7,000 pesos. 

In neighborhoods like Palermo or Belgrano, it can go up to 8,000 and up to 10,000 pesos.

Fantasy and comfort.

A room in a transitional shelter.

Customers, say their owners, are increasingly demanding.

Photo Enrique Garcia Medina

To

promote the movement, Lalín points out, "we seek to offer attractive plans such as

the promo of a 20% discount on birthdays.

In addition, since we want to reach the youngest niche, if the couple is

between 18 and 25 years old -previous presentation of DNI- you can also access a 20% off.

And if you reserve an appointment online, there is automatically 10%. These are maneuvers that are done to try to return to being ".

Those consulted agree that "the strongest segment to attract is the one between 18 and 30, but it

is also the one with the most economic difficulties, 

either due to lack of work or low wages. We still do not slack off and seek to reach them through social networks. The

telo

continues to be a chosen place, the issue is that today the boy or girl who earns 120,000 pesos in salary does not have enough to spend on something that is not a basic need."

demanding clientele

"Many of the clients who go to my hotels - says Lalín -

arrive via Instagram.

They enter the page, ask about everything and I answer them myself, I am very obsessive with my work. We have many visits and it is also important to have a page with a striking proposal, with beautiful photos, tempting promotions so that whoever enters the page wants to book".

Customers also seek to lower costs by going

three, four and even six to the same room.

"Of course it is more expensive and not all hotels have a room for six. Most do have one or two rooms for four people,

but only to stay during the shift, they are not authorized to spend the night

as a matter of preserving the peace of mind", say the four specialists.

"The money is what is missing in the owner's pocket to invest and in the client's to make use of it," say the owners.

Photo: Enrique Garcia Medina

"Today the head is more open and

there are much less prejudices

than 20 years ago. In any case, it is a small niche that has the right to come and live their sexuality as they please... That there are four people occurs in 1 out of every 20 or 25 rooms... and six is ​​even more remote," Capelo graphs.

Both Ramos and López agree that "

today's demands have nothing to do with those of 20 or 30 years ago

, when a little red lamp and a large mirror were enough. Today you have to think about

decorating the room as if it were a private apartment

with all the knick-knacks," they point out.

​"You have to have sophisticated lights, spacious bathrooms, a Smart TV screen, they ask you for a hydromassage and not to mention having a Wi-Fi network that flies and, also, Bluetooth", remarks López, while Lalín notes: "

Before, the first thing they asked you for was prophylactics, today the internet password

. And if something were to fail or not work, customers threaten to write you down on the networks."


Experienced in the matter, López has no doubts that "

the sector is saved with renovation, modernization and updating.

There are no secrets, the best service must be given and for that, the facilities must be propped up... And how is it done? With silver, and

silver is what is missing in the owner's pocket to invest and in the client's to make use of it

. Ours is supply and demand, uses and customs, benefits and use of them".

The benefits of a room are key to attracting people.

"There are no secrets: if you don't update, you dreamed", say the hotel owners.

Photo: Enrique Garcia Medina

"You have to have the latest of the latest, seduce the customer," Capelo insists.

"It is key to constantly improve,

the issue is that there are more conservative businessmen, who are afraid to invest

. You have to understand that this sector works with having up-to-date furniture, pleasant decoration."

López and Ramos agree: "The public that goes to the temporary shelter

is a punctual, demanding client, who is looking for a good room service without cracks

, a secure parking lot, with privacy and direct access to the room."

When asking what type of clientele, Lalín puts it first: "There is everything, many mature couples, there is also a lot of youth. Later, from my experience in the business, I would say that 50% of those who come are cheating and

the

other 50% are married couples and couples, but they all come looking for the same thing: peace of mind."

And Lalín shares a curious detail: "A couple of weeks ago, when power outages were commonplace,

many couples and even families came to our hotels looking for air conditioning

. 90% of the hotels have a power generator, with which electricity is guaranteed".

The hotel accommodation, they conclude, "is a loyal place, which has always been, which is always there. Think that it

is in the neighborhoods, in remote places, in the suburbs, in places where there are no tourist hotels

, but there are hostels, which -they remark- they are not only the destination for sexual relations, but also for meetings, talks, tranquility as we already said".

Both Capelo, López, Ramos and Lalín know that they are selling a momentary fantasy.

"The hotel is the ideal place to consolidate the couple, to get out of the crisis, to give free rein to the imagination...

But if there is no mango on the street, that fantasy that we sell goes to waste. In February, 6% inflation, March will be even higher. If we transfer it to prices, we have to close because no one comes... But here we are, we won't give up, we don't want to disappear."

ACE

Source: clarin

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