Vacation rentals influence on Playa del Carmen low hotel occupancy

Vacation rentals continue to have an impact on hotels in downtown Playa del Carmen, as they recorded 40% lower occupancy compared to previous years, owing partly to the rising popularity of this new housing alternative.

“We came to the conclusion, quite obviously, that by having many more options, not necessarily less tourism came to the city, but the one that came was distributed in these options (vacation rentals), hence the need to identify the new areas that receive this type of tourism,” Andrea Lotito, vice president of the Riviera Maya Hotel Association (AHRM), said in an interview.

Similarly, she regarded this to be one of the worst summer seasons in terms of occupancy, for which she proposes a redesign of the destination, ranging from urban image to forestry, in order to categorize the new tourist zone.

“We discussed (with the authorities) what Playa del Carmen lacks to improve in the tourist sense, to determine which is the new tourist zone, and as a result, we mentioned new lodging options in the city, and if this is a reason why one of the worst summer seasons in terms of occupancy was registered,” the hotel leader explained.

Andrea Lotito stated that during a meeting, the state and municipal authorities agreed to carry out a process of vacation rental regularization so that guests have legal certainty in the event of an incident.

The competition from vacation rentals has doubled the amount of rooms available, as hoteliers provide eight thousand hotel rooms in Playa del Carmen, compared to the destination’s 19 thousand vacation rental units.