Queretaro’s boutique hotels hope to lure larger market from Quintana Roo and Yucatán

MÉRIDA, MX.– Miguel Ángel González Galván, representing the Association of Boutique Hotels of Querétaro, said that the state is currently doing better than before the pandemic, and indicated that they will seek to attract a larger market from this area of the country through a series of strategies.

Interviewed in this city where he arrived for the Tianguis Turístico de México, he expressed that the pandemic affected a little, in terms of the growth of the boutique hotels, and the main challenge was to comply with the protocols, especially on the subject of occupancy capacity.

“The boutique hotels, in general, do not exceed 20 rooms, and if they ask for a maximum occupancy of 25 percent, the activity is unsustainable, but anyways, we continued working and we moved forward,” he added.

Queretaro’s main market, he said, is from the center of the country, but due to the area connection with Merida and Cancun they are beginning to receive more and more tourists from Yucatán and Quintana Roo, being five to 10 percent of the total market.

“Precisely our presence here is to try to attract more market from this part of the country, through some agreements with Yucatán and Quintana Roo,” he added.

The director of Casa Mateo explained that the growth of boutique hotels in Queretaro was due to the fact that before the pandemic, occupancy was more on weekends, but with the change in travel trends, many people now travel any day and that benefits them.

“In Querétaro, we are doing better off now than during the pandemic because being a more weekend destination, there were places, such as Bernal, where before covid-19 we had 30 percent occupancy and now we are at 40 to 42 percent,” he added.

Regarding this winter, he said that the projection is good, but with the uncertainty that there could be changes in the protocols in the face of a resurgence, if this situation does not occur, the end of the year will be quite considerable.

Regarding the projections for next year, he said that it is very risky due to the changing situation of the pandemic, and that forces them to live up to date, “one gets up and projects according to the situation”.