According to the president of the Palma and Cala Major hoteliers association, Javier Vich, average occupancy of the city's boutique hotels in July is 88%. Forecasts for August indicate 90%.
These percentages, he points out, vary from week to week because of a high level of last-minute booking, something that applies across the board in Mallorca. Reservations are unaffected by price, which at the highest can be around 600 euros a night. "There is a very specific market segment that demands luxury and has high purchasing power."
Demand for the boutique hotels is highly diverse in terms of nationality. As well as European, it comes from the Middle East and Far East and from North America. Vich is once more highlighting the impact of the United Airlines service from New York-Newark, which is a hub for flights in the States and Canada. For some hotels, he suggests, the US has become the principal market.
He adds that Palma as a base port for cruises has created an important niche market and has diversified the profile of foreign tourists.
* Despite a recent report which referred to an average occupancy for Mallorca hotels in July of just 65% (a highly suspect claim), the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation has said that it anticipates around 90%. If so, this would exceed the average occupancy for July 2019 and 2022 - tourism ministry figures show that this was 87.4% and 87.9% respectively.
While there are hotels in Mallorca which are currently operating at 100%, this is never the situation with all hotels, or anything like the situation. It is the case in fact that, depending on cost and operational structures, occupancy of 80 to 90% can be more profitable than 100%.