Continuing the previous posts about the various data sources that are available to hoteliers to gather important information when making decisions, I now come to talk to you about meteorology, something that all hoteliers intrinsically know has an impact on the activity , but which they very rarely take advantage of.

Although the weather does not have the same weight in demand as other factors already discussed – such as social reputation , price or location – it can still, at certain times of the year, play an important role. In fact, according to a scientific study carried out in 2013 where more than 20 years of data were analyzed, the effects of meteorology on the performance of the hotel industry have economic impacts in both the short term and long term . And this study also demonstrates that this impact is not restricted to destinations where the climate is considered an attraction . According to him, although both milder and warmer temperatures and precipitation have a positive impact over time in most destinations, precipitation is, in most cases, the meteorological factor with the greatest negative economic impact. In the short term, precipitation can even be a catalyst for demand , especially for customers in a geographic location close to the hotel, as is the case with hotels in Portugal that tend to stay in the winter and spring months – times when there is little or no precipitation – have greater demand from Portuguese and Spanish customers than on other occasions. On the other hand, at times when an increase in precipitation is expected, the number of cancellations or length of stay also increases . If combined with weekends, holidays or so-called 'bridges' the influence of this factor can even take on greater proportions.

It should also be noted that this impact is not limited to accommodation and number of reservations , quite the opposite. For example, if there is a forecast of a lot of precipitation, customers will probably be able to stay longer at the hotel and enjoy a greater number of services, such as the SPA, restaurants, bars, etc. Therefore, the staffing of these departments can and should take such situations into account.

The reality is that there are countless APIs ( Application Programmable Interface ) that allow automated or semi-automated access to meteorological data , namely precipitation forecasts, snowfall, temperature, humidity, wind, among others. Many, such as WeatherUndergound ,   AccuWeather or DarkSky , even have free access levels, so there is no reason for hoteliers not to systematically use weather as an important variable in their tactical decisions.

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