The hegemony of hotels. The role of the State in the reactivation of the profit rate of hotels after the 2008 crisis

Abstract

The exercising of the hegemony of hotels is analyzed to reactivate their profit rate after the 2008 crisis. The State (regional administration) normatively supported previously prohibited hotel works and reforms, abandoning "contentionism" and exempting them from complying with certain regulatory parameters. This support of public regulation circumvents the preservation of the principles of equality or the prohibition of arbitrariness by alleging to overcome the crisis, deseasonalize and improve sustainability, accessibility and safety. Our methodology consists in analyzing the regulatory flexibility in the Balearic Islands and the statistical and cartographic analysis of the available data on the renovation and expansion works of the hotels in Mallorca (2009-2021). The results show that the real estate fixed capital of the tourism industry in Mallorca has been renewed and expanded, with an increase of 19,434 places between 2010 and 2021 (higher than that 16,117 places registered between 1999 and 2010), and an increase in categories and investment in new constructions and reforms. These renovation and expansion projects are focused on the sun and beach tourist resorts and the historic city of Palma. The relaunch of the tourism cycle was accompanied by profitability in terms of RevPar and revaluation of hotel capital. In other words, a clear link is reflected between the primary and secondary circuits.