Vlad: Hello, everyone. In today's episode we have a new guest - Ana. We are more than happy to talk about where the market is going. There is a lot of noise, a lot of things changing, and we are curious about Ana's opinion. Ana, thank you so much for being our guest today.
Ana: Thank you for inviting me. I'm fine.
Vlad: Amazing. It's almost summer and people are busy. Ana, for those with no context about you and the company - quick intro. Who are you, what are you doing, and why should people visit your hotels?
Ana: SNÖ Hotels is a company born around seven years ago. The CEO is very passionate about skiing and wanted to join his passion with his work. He started by building connections in the hotel world - first as a commercial lead at famous ski resorts in Andorra, then he approached hotels differently. He started the company with projects in different parts of the Pyrenees, mostly the Catalonian Pyrenees but also in Aragon. I joined around six years ago through contacts in common. When we started working together, there were only ski resort destinations. After that, we started growing in Galicia. The CEO understands the market deeply because he is a ski lover and he loves nature. The approach we take with guests is to understand their needs and help them enjoy the experience of nature. In America, ski resorts are like a whole - ski lifts, restaurants, hotels, everything together. In Spain it is not like that. You have to know the market to complete the experience for the guests because there are many players: the ski resorts, the restaurants, the rental shops. We offer the experience of pulling it together - that is our value. We include a lot of groups of beginners, who grow with us and keep coming back because they like the way we manage the ski world. Now in Galicia it is a very different market and a very different target.
Vlad: What is the Camino de Santiago?
Ana: For many, many years it was something like a route - you had to cross all of Spain to reach the cathedral in Santiago. People who completed it received a certificate. It is like a walking meditation. It has existed for centuries. But now it is trending again because you get to see beautiful landscapes and you meet many people along the way. There is a real vibe to it. That is our main target in Galicia because our hotels are based on or near the route. It is a great experience - I recommend it.
Vlad: I love Spain. I am planning to travel there this summer. Everyone talks about Dubai and luxury, but Spain is something different.
Ana: All of our hotels are near experiences. The people that come visit us are searching for a piece of nature, for self-improvement in skiing or the Camino. You are invited whenever you want.
Vlad: From your perspective, what is going on with the market right now? Some people rely on Booking.com or Airbnb, some are trying to go more direct. What are your thoughts?
Ana: The market is evolving and changing constantly. The major crisis in tourism was COVID. After that, people are not consuming the same things. They are not reserving in the same places they used to. And now, because of the war, many people do not dare to travel far. They are looking for places that are safe. Also, there are a lot of people searching through artificial intelligence now, which is a challenge for us to meet their research expectations. We have guests who are 80 years old and not used to anything digital - they are not on metasearch, not on apps. And we also have young guests searching through many platforms, metasearch, and AI tools. There is a variety of things coming together right now. Booking.com is at its highest. Airbnb is maybe changing a little - in Spain there are now many regulations to limit holiday rentals because cities like Barcelona had a housing problem from apartments being rented only on Airbnb. This is making it difficult for Airbnb to grow there. And tour operators are facing the same challenge: a variety of people searching for travel in completely different ways. Some are tech-savvy, some are not. You have to adapt to all of them at once, and that is difficult. We are working to sell more directly through our own website. But it is not easy. For example, in ski resorts, if you want to bundle ski lifts, hotel, rental, and lessons, you have to build a package. We try to keep that bundled offer our own. But the market keeps evolving and we have to keep up.
Vlad: One hundred percent. Everything changes constantly. Teams also need to keep adapting. And I'm curious - you mentioned AI and LLMs. When I travel I book hotels directly, not Airbnb. I feel safer with a hotel.
Ana: The stories are real. When someone rents only one or two apartments privately and is not a professional, they might not have the tools to handle unexpected problems properly - a plumbing issue on the street, no running water in the building. Professionals in hospitality have the systems and experience to manage those moments. A private individual renting out one apartment may not.
Vlad: What is harder about direct booking? People sometimes don't know a specific hotel exists until they see it on TikTok or a platform. How do you get them to come to your website?
Ana: I think OTA commissions are fair because they do their job. They have a huge platform, a lot of visibility, and people trust them. Building that trust is not easy. Being present across so many countries is not easy either. But the goal for a hotelier is to create some difference from what Booking.com shows. We try to give a plus to guests who find us through OTAs and then visit our website. Maybe flexible checkout if we have availability, maybe free parking. That small extra can make them stay with us directly. Also, one thing that I think works in our favour is that Booking.com limits how much space you have to describe yourself. You have limited words. If guests come to our website and find all the information - and find that small plus - some of them will book directly.
Vlad: It does feel like a price-only battle on OTAs. People are just comparing nightly rates.
Ana: But for me, pricing is not everything. A guest that pays a lot less can have enormous expectations and still not be satisfied. If you focus on the guests who are your real target and give them a little more - services, experience, anything - and they have a nice stay and recommend you, that is worth more than winning on price. The recommendation is the real gain.
Vlad: Absolutely. People forget to enjoy the moment. They are constantly thinking about price. But you go there to feel good.
Ana: Yes, but sometimes guests need a small push. If the people around them at the destination say: look at this, you can do this and that, this will fit you - with that extra encouragement they might buy something they did not expect but love.
Vlad: Ana, if you had a magic wand and one wish - what operational problem would you remove?
Ana: It is a difficult one. I do not think the problem is having contact with guests - that is when you understand them best and can satisfy their needs better. For me, the major inconvenience at SNÖ Hotels is that the markets we play in are so different, with such different demand patterns, that we are constantly trying to adapt. The times when demand is low or high are not similar across any of our hotels. We are constantly going up and down, searching for the right moment to do the right pricing. My wish would be: I want the insight across all hotels at once.
Vlad: That is a great wish. Ana, how would you describe your hotels as an experience to someone watching who wants to find somewhere to feel better?
Ana: We are the complement. The people that come visit us are searching for self-discovery in skiing or for self-improvement on the slopes. In Galicia, the Camino de Santiago is like a walking meditation. People who complete it - which takes about a month - are rediscovering themselves. What we do is complement that experience by giving them what they need: the spa, a good meal after a long walk, or someone to take care of their luggage for the next stage of the route. The key for us is being there when the client needs us, because the real experience is enjoying the nature.
Vlad: Where can people find more about you and the hotels?
Ana: Our website is snohotels.com. For me personally, I am on LinkedIn - if anyone wants to connect, feel free to reach out. We are glad to make new contacts. You have to keep evolving and keeping up with new technologies to be ready for new opportunities and keep in touch with clients.
Vlad: Ana, thank you so much for being our guest today. For everyone watching, links to Ana's LinkedIn and the SNÖ Hotels website are in the description. If you want a great experience in nature - whether skiing in the Pyrenees or walking the Camino - you know where to go.
Ana: You are very invited to our hotels whenever it suits you. Thank you.
