Vila Galé closed the year with revenues of €135 million in Portugal, 18% more than it earned before the pandemic
It was a “pleasant surprise” for the Vila Galé group to determine the results of the activity in 2022: The national group, with 27 hotels in Portugal and 10 in Brazil, totaling 21 thousand beds, closed the year with revenues of 135 million euros in Portugal, representing an increase of 18% compared to 2019, the pre-covid year. Overall, the group adds up to 218 million euros in total revenue, 12% more than in the last year before the pandemic.
“I was wrong – and I’m glad – in the initial forecasts for 2022, and at the beginning of the year, when it was still in the aftermath of the pandemic, the prospects were for results 10% to 15% below 2019”, noted Gonçalo Rebelo de Almeida , administrator of the Vila Galé group, speaking to journalists this Wednesday, to present the results for 2022 and plans for 2023.
But from a first quarter that was still “very weak” last year, “the situation from March, April, began to improve, and the international markets resumed, including the European ones and also the United States and Brazil”, said the manager of the hotel group.
The highlight goes to the strong growth of tourists from the United States in 2022 in the group’s hotels, which already represent around 2.5% of the total weight, equivalent to that of Brazilians.
“Last year we reached two million overnight stays in Portugal, 670 thousand customers passed through our hotels, which including Brazil reaches 3.5 million overnight stays”, summarized the administrator of Vila Galé.
53% growth of Portuguese customers in hotels
A true phenomenon was evident on the side of the Portuguese market, which in Vila Galé hotels “managed to grow compared to 2019, 2020 and 2021” – and significantly last year, assuming a share of 44% in total overnight stays and 53% considering the absolute universe of customers.
“This rate of national customers is an absolute record in Portugal”, stressed Jorge Rebelo de Almeida, CEO (executive chairman) of the Vila Galé group.
On average, the average price in the group’s hotels increased by 14% due to the shadow effect, and all the effects associated with the war in Europe. Vila Galé’s food basket soared by 22%, according to December 2022 accounts.
But another positive effect in improving margins was the fact that the group managed to strengthen the level of bookings through direct channels, without intermediaries, which in 2022 assumed a weight of 42%.
Also in Brazil, the operation worked “relatively well”, registering a growth of 25% compared to 2019, and totaling revenues of around 83 million euros (464 million reais), essentially on account of the country’s domestic market.
“Fortunately the sector tried, once again, and despite the harbingers of doom, who said that tourism was going to die, it was recovering. A lot can be explained by the fact that all the factors that made Portugal a successful destination remained valid after the pandemic”, noted Gonçalo Rebelo de Almeida, referring that the war in Ukraine did not have much impact on tourist demand in the group’s hotels last year, but the effects were mainly felt in terms of increased costs.
Four new hotels to open in 2013
Policies to attract and value staff are one of the priorities of the Vila Galé group, which in 2023 will continue with an average increase in remuneration of 11% (in a universe that covers 1350 employees in Portugal), with special emphasis on employees with higher salaries low.
The group also established that in 2023, and with effect from January, the minimum wage for workers at Vila Galé hotels is 900 euros – “which remains a low wage”, as acknowledged by Jorge Rebelo de Almeida, chairman of the group . “But do you know of any company that gives workers a 65% discount in any of their hotels?”, he asked.
In 2023, the Vila Galé group will open four new hotels in Portugal, starting with a “children’s hotel” (to open on June 1st, on Children’s Day), and an “adults’ hotel” (to open on December 1st). April, “but it’s not a lie”), both inserted in the vast property of Alentejo, in the municipality of Beja, where Vila Galé Clube de Campo is located.
Vila Galé will also open a hotel in Tomar, rehabilitating an old women’s school, on June 1st, to the rhythm of the traditional tray festival. The group will also make an effort to bring forward the opening of the hotel in the Azores, in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, to May 11, in order to be operational for the festivities of Senhor Santo Cristo.
“We continue to believe a lot in the interior, and we will have news soon”, guaranteed Jorge Rebelo de Almeida, stressing that “we need people for the interior, which is empty, and it is a great value that we have in the country”.