Meliá anticipates a summer of certain normality in reservations to the DR

It registers a positive evolution in the Caribbean reserves in the first quarter

 The hotelier defines 2020 as the worst year in its history

The Meliá International hotel chain recorded a positive evolution of reservations in the Caribbean in the first quarter, which could anticipate a somewhat normal summer in destinations such as the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

In this regard, the effective vaccination campaign and the reopening of the United Kingdom as of next May reactivate the reserves for the second semester, evidencing the significant contained demand, Meliá informed the CNMV.

Covid-19 has had a strong impact on the results of the hotel chain, which loses 425.9 million (excluding impairments) and maintains its liquidity and resilience in the face of a drop in income of -70.7%, betting on its digital capacity and its vacation leadership “as levers for a vigorous recovery.”

Likewise, the company managed to mitigate the drop in Ebitda through “an effective contingency plan, achieving a 50.6% reduction in its operating expenses, excluding impairments.”

The digital leadership in the period (with more than 51% of the sales made via melia.com since the start of the pandemic) allowed it to emerge “competitive advantages in occupations and rates, commercial flexibility, health security, loyalty and relationship with the client.”

For Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of Meliá, “2020 is unlike anything we have known in our 65-year history; there is no comparison possible. After achieving positive results in 2019 and maintaining the same trend during the first two months of 2020, the appearance of the pandemic as of last March 2020 left tourism in a state of practical hibernation.”