The slow season is officially here, and it´s not fun at all. While it´s nice that the hostel is quiet, there´s less to clean, and the city is a little less busy, it makes for some boring hours at reception. I´m on my third cup of tea, which I made just to keep myself entertained for two minutes. Where is everyone ??

I´m hoping it´s not the case, but I think the slow months (Dec-Feb) are going to be even slower than last year for Barcelona hotels. The last data I saw was from August, but year on year occupancy was down 5.2% and room rates were down 8.6%. Italy seemed like the only European country with an improvement. We´ve got an advantage given that last year was our first year open, so we´ve got some press/pr/word-of-mouth/momentum helping us out.

It´s interesting to see how a tough economy affects people. I got a call yesterday from the owner of Hostal Olivia, a charming little hotel down the street that we frequently send our overflow guests to. Hostal Oliva is consistently in all of the guidebooks, so I assume they must always be rather full. In a very un-Spanish manner, the woman was calling just to say hello and see how we were doing. She wanted us to make sure to remember her if we were fully booked. She told me, on a Monday, that they were almost completely empty. Hostal Oliva doesn´t do much to promote themselves, but that really surprised me.

I wonder how the new W Hotel that opened this month is doing with their cheapest rooms at 290 euros. It must be a ghost town. Lee and I are heading to networking drinks tonight. I´ll let you know if I spot any actual guests.