Dear colleagues, partners, and friends,
A new year begins, and with it, a new chapter in our exciting journey together. Before looking ahead, I want to reflect on the highlights of the past year and celebrate the achievements we reached in 2024.
How did 2024 go?
With over 2,600 affiliates across Italy and abroad, representing all types of accommodations from vacation homes to tourist resorts, we’ve been able to gather valuable insights into booking trends.
2024 has marked a new era in travel: travelers have shown us they are planning their vacations well in advance, which led to a very successful first quarter in terms of summer and beyond bookings. This trend aligns perfectly with hoteliers’ desire for advance bookings, particularly prepaid ones, driven by attractive strategies that encourage travelers to pay early for their trips.
We cannot say the same for the second quarter, when, together with our partner colleagues and hoteliers, we shared concerns about delayed bookings, both from Italy and abroad. This forced tourism operators to adopt promotional strategies as a remedy. Let this be a lesson for next year in choosing the right pricing strategy, so we do not end up with hard-to-fill gaps at the last minute.
Fortunately, the third quarter brought us great satisfaction as travelers booked last minute or extended their booking window into September and October.Finally, in this last quarter, hoteliers showed remarkable adaptability to new traveler trends: many colleagues opened availability early and launched successful marketing campaigns, particularly during Black Friday, often focusing on prepaid rates to secure early revenue.
Key Learnings for 2025
The past year required us to adopt a new approach to planning our activities, anticipating them to better meet the evolving needs of travelers.
Is advance booking always a good thing? The answer is yes, but only if we manage this trend effectively to secure prepaid revenue. Otherwise, we might face challenges with last-minute cancellations.
Regarding cancellations, we conducted an anonymous survey with our clients, which revealed that for 72% of our clients, the average cancellation rate was 19%. Only 28% reported cancellation rates below 5%. This highlights how widespread cancellations are, especially with extended booking windows. Our data also shows that most cancellations occur within 8 days of arrival.
For insured bookings, our data confirms that 92% of refund requests occur within 2 days of check-in. These statistics demonstrate how challenging, or even impossible, it is to resell a room with less than 48 hours’ notice.
Pricing remains a crucial factor: a well-planned strategy, not too aggressive but appropriate, built on the past year’s experience, will help you avoid last-minute discounting for your rooms.What should we do in 2025? Let’s take full advantage of the growing trend of travelers planning ahead while seeking solutions for guaranteed and immediate revenue: marketing campaigns, early promotions, and advance availability on one side; focus on prepaid rates and stay security on the other.
Thank you from BeSafe
In conclusion, I want to express my gratitude to everyone — my team, our partners, and our clients — who contributed to a successful year for BeSafe and our prepaid rate with included insurance:
- 2,700+ clients who chose to trust us
- Doubled value of insured bookings vs 2023: €100M in insured transactions demonstrating the value of our solutions
- 500,000+ insured reservations
- Expanded international presence across 30+ countries, including prestigious partnerships such as Atlantis, The Palm in UAE and over 50 properties in Greece, showcasing the uniqueness of our solutions in supporting international revenue strategies
- New significant global technological integrations, such as with SiteMinder, enabling us to deliver increasingly efficient and cutting-edge solutions
The insured rate continues to prove its value, supported by significant trends:
- BeSafe booking window extended from 58 to 71 days (+12 days vs 2023), recording its most significant growth (+73% vs 2023) in the last quarter
- 73.69% of surveyed clients reported up to 30% increase in prepaid bookings in 2024
- Travelers chose BeSafe primarly for the ability to cancel up to the day of check-in (70%) and plan to choose it again for future trips (90%)
All of this is thanks to our services’ ability to offer enhanced security to customers, guaranteeing cancellation for any documentable cause: protection for travelers and a competitive edge for hoteliers over OTAs and flexible rates.
This is our mission: to permanently replace non-refundable rates with BeSafe insured rates, benefiting both guests and hoteliers.
Looking ahead, 2025 will be a year of new challenges and great opportunities. We’re ready to develop even more innovative solutions that meet the needs of a rapidly changing market. I’m proud of our team, our determination, and our ability to face challenges with courage and vision.
Best wishes for a successful 2025! To all our hotel partners, travel agencies, and tour operators, I send my sincere wishes for a year of satisfaction, innovation, and growth. Let’s continue working together to redefine the future of travel and create unique experiences for our travelers.
Best regards,
Alessandro Bartolucci
CEO, BeSafe Group