If you have been delaying making your vacation hotel reservations for popular beach hotspots like Cancun and Tulum for the holidays, the window in the Mexican Caribbean is quickly closing.
According to news reports from 24 Hours Quintana Roo, the more than 130,000 hotel rooms in popular Mexican Caribbean tourist beach resort destinations such as Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Cozumel, and Tulum are expecting 90 to 95 percent occupancy for the fall and winter holiday seasons.
Booking Strong for Cancun Area Into 2024
Reservations are currently pouring in for the popular fall and winter holidays. This is leading to hotel properties anticipating an occupancy level of more than 90 percent for the peak season.
Additionally, they are amazingly already reporting advanced bookings for popular resorts in Cancun, Isla Mujeres, and Tulum for Easter and Spring Break 2024 along with what is typically the slower summer season.
According to Vacation Codes Association President Miriam Cortés Franco, while the reservations are already strong for upcoming travel seasons, they are expected to only pick up more as the peak holiday travel season comes closer.
In fact, Cortés Franco hinted that many of the main resorts in the tourist zone of Mexican Caribbean hotspots Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Cozumel, and Tulum are likely to be nearly sold out, if not completely full for the peak holiday season.
Hotel Properties Surprised by Advanced Bookings
President of the Caribbean Hotel Council Tono Chaves noted that the advanced bookings into Spring Break and the slower summer off-peak season have honestly caught many hotel properties off-guard.
He mentioned that this type of activity is something that has not been experienced by the hotels and resorts in Cancun and Tulum in a number of years.
While it provides comfort for the hotel and resort properties in the Mexican Caribbean, it only means that travelers will need to prepare their vacation getaway plans to the beach resort destination even more in advance.
What’s Driving the Reservations?
The popularity of Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Cozumel, and Tulum as tourist destinations is leading to the increased number of visitors in the area.
The growth in demand for hotel rooms in the Mexican Caribbean has led to the opening of a third international airport in the area, the Tulum International Airport, in December of this year.
Add in the increase in the number of flights to Cancun by Frontier Airlines, American Airlines, and others just means additional passengers traveling to the area.
What Travelers Need to Know
The demand for hotel and resort rooms for a vacation getaway in the Mexican Caribbean is leading to tourists having to book their rooms even earlier than in the past.
The booking window used to be just a couple of weeks before leaving for a vacation getaway. Now, visitors should reserve their hotel room or vacation rental property at least six months in advance to get the best location and pricing.
Travelers also should anticipate higher room rates as the demand for the best resorts pushes up the price hotel properties can charge, especially during the peak season such as the fall and winter holidays.
The good news is for tourists that the added number of flights and the opening of Tulum airport should help keep the airfares stable. It may even contribute to fare wars which could put downward pressure on the prices.
Travelers should be aware that recently, the airfares being charged for flights to Tulum are set higher than those for Cancun. Budget-oriented travelers should consider flying to the older Cancun International Airport and take transportation to Tulum to save money.
Also, recent surveys have shown that the rates per room night are lower for vacation rental properties than the luxury full-service resorts.
Tulum has a large number of lower-priced vacation rental properties. However, that may change with the demand for rooms from the opening of Tulum International Airport later this year.