Tourism to pass the confinement; three hostels tell their strategies in the face of the crisis due to the pandemic

The tourism sector , which has been one of the most affected by the pandemic, has relied on three strategies to increase its turnover.

Tourism to pass the confinement; three hostels tell their strategies in the face of the crisis due to the pandemic

The initiatives are exclusivity in the use of the facilities and rental of the properties for families, and business appointments for the entire weekend
of confinement . These options are offered through social networks.

The purpose is to motivate people to visit these complexes , in small family groups, to partially mitigate the spread of coronavirus .

The proximity to the city of Quito and other towns also allows travelers to organize a short outing.

These days, when confinement is applied on weekends in 16 provinces of the country, for example, people are encouraged to go with their family to spend the “confinement” in properties with open green spaces, swimming pools and restaurants.

There are even options for horseback riding, hiking or extreme sports.

In these activities, social distancing is guaranteed. Holidays such as Mother’s Day , Father’s Day , birthdays, Christmas or other special occasions are also used to attract visitors. The prices of these packages vary, depending on the number of people.

On average, the base price ranges from USD 100 per room per night to USD 550, if the entire property is rented for 16 people. Certain sites also offer discounts or give away the third night’s stay.

Some places already offered these strategies before selective confinement and had managed to increase occupancy from 21% to 28%.

But as a result of the new curfew, demand fell between 10 and 15%, said Norman Bock, president of the Quito Metropolitan Hotel Association . He asked to speed up vaccination for this sector, which the previous year had a drop of 20%.

Below three hostels tell how they seek to rebound in the crisis with these new strategies:

 ‘Clients make exclusive use of facilities’: Alfonso Guerrero, Munay Glamping administrator,

“The recreational complex of which Munay Glamping is part, in Nayón, had as its main attraction the offer of extreme sports, but after the coronavirus pandemic occurred, we promoted the accommodation service. We returned to operating in September 2020.

To serve our users, seven additional cabins were built to the five there were, located at a distance of between 30 and 100 meters from each other, which allows users to comply with the social distancing established by the health crisis.

Visitors who make a reservation in Munay can make exclusive use of the facilities, use the pool, do outdoor activities, observe the farm animals, make a bonfire, etc.

On average, for now we are operating at 60% of what we had before the pandemic. The activity is not the same.

Before the pandemic, we held events with business groups. A week we served about 100 or 150 people, now 40 ”.

‘Packages are offered Friday to Monday’: Juan Tamayo
charge of Caste Patate

“Three years ago was given the opportunity to rent our inn for a family event. It served us as inspiration to promote, in this time of pandemic, the exclusive use of our facilities.

To use the property exclusively, those interested must make a reservation. Thus, they have the possibility of mitigating the contagion of coronavirus by only using the pool with their acquaintances for three hours. They can also rent a cabin for the weekend. We work with groups of at least five people, in exclusive services.

Because of the curfew, we are now pushing for visitors to arrive on Friday afternoon and leave on Monday morning.

Currently, we are operating between 30 and 40% of what we had in the pre-ndemic.

The tourism sector is badly hit. In our case, we are a family business and we have assumed, for the most part, the losses.

In addition, with our workers the modality of part-time work was changed. On days when there are no people, no collaborator comes ”.

‘We work with family groups and reservations’: Sebastián Cornejo / Owner Finca-Hotel Cotopaxi Pungo

This support from our team helped us to maintain the places and this activity.

Currently, the Finca-Hotel Cotopaxi Pungo operates from Friday to Sunday and on holidays. During the week we always work with family groups, and under reservation. Biosafety measures are followed.

In recent months we have had visits from internal tourists. Before, 40% were foreigners.

Our occupation is between 25 and 30% in relation to what we registered before the pandemic. This allows us to cover at least the fixed costs.

The demand is very varied, on certain weekends we have a good reception and others, however, it falls. In part, this reality responds to the measures taken to mitigate the contagion of covid-19 ”.