Hotels in the Mexican Caribbean aren't very happy right now as they're reporting a 10 percent decline in reservations this summer compared to last year.
By this time in 2018, Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres hotels had sold 70 percent of their rooms. The decrease in reservations is causing many of the hotels to lower their rates by up to 15 percent in an effort to draw tourists.
"Tourism is the most susceptible industry there is, that is why you should be careful with what is shared. We have resented a drop in the speed of reservations for summer, since we are 60% in books," said Roberto Cintron Gomez, president of the Hotel Association of Cancun and Puerto Morelos.
Hotels in Riviera Maya are experiencing the same drop in bookings. They're expecting a reduction in night reservations by up to 300,000 which is a $100 million loss for the year. The first four months of 2019, the hotels saw a loss of 81,000 nights.
The Riviera Maya currently has an average occupancy of 82 percent which is three percent lower than 2018. Cancun and Puerto Morelos are dealing with a six percent decrease from 2018 and an 80 percent average occupancy.
The reasoning behind the hotel drop could be a number of things. Some say it's a lack of promotion, poor image of Mexico or the sargassum problem.
Some point out that flights to Mexico's Caribbean areas are full and the reduction in hotel bookings shouldn't be happening. Domestic travelers to Cancun have grown by five percent while international passengers have increased by seven percent. In Cozumel, the increase is 40 percent and five percent respectively. So why are hotel reservations dropping?
Roberto Cintrón Gómez explained, "The passengers are staying in rooms rented through vacation platforms, because Quintana Roo, which does pay taxes, creates jobs and leaves money, is not receiving passengers."
"Not only we are saying that we need money, we are telling the government where there is one and one of the things you have to do is to manage or create a law so that vacation rental platforms pay their taxes. We do not ask them to disappear, only to pay taxes, " added Cintron.
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