The Valencian Community Hotel and Tourism Business Association (Hosbec) has described the Spanish government’s plans to cut the working week from 40 hours to 37.5 hours as “reckless” and warns that it will cause a “significant increase” in tourist costs.
Hosbec president Fede Fuster said the move will affect the competitiveness of the hotel sector and increased costs will be passed on to visitors through higher prices.
He added that the deal struck between Labour Minister Yolanda Diez and the trade unions did not involve commerce and that tourist businesses are very labour-intensive.
Mr Fuster said: “Minister Diaz forgets that in the Valencian hospitality industry, the working week has already been agreed at 37.5 hours and she has not explained what will happen to businesses operating eight-hour shifts, 24 hours a day.”
The Hosbec president added that the “small print” of the changes will need to be analysed to see how it fits with what employers and unions have agreed to locally.
Hosbec has pledged to work with both the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) and the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT) to “minimise” the impact of the measure.
“It will have to be adapted to the reality of the tourism sector where getting replacement staff is not easy and where it might have to look at mechanising processes due to the lack of workers,” Fuster added.
The Socialist government committed to reducing the working week without any salary loss by the end of 2025 as part of its 2023 coalition deal with the far-left party, Sumar.
The reduction, which has taken over a year to agree on, will affect around 12 million workers, particularly in the retail, hospitality and agriculture sectors. Public-sector employees and most large companies already have a 37.5-hour work week.
Yolanda Diaz described the move as “a historic day”, arguing that reducing the standard 40-hour work week would modernise Spain’s labour market and prioritise quality of life over time spent at work.
She emphasised that the reform aims to enable people to “live better, work less, and be more productive and efficient economically,” describing the initiative as “a change of paradigm.”
The threat of further increases to hotel costs will not please tourists, who already suffered from price rises last year.
According to the INE national statistics institute, overnight stays across Spain rose by 4.9% in 2024 compared to the previous year, reaching a new record high of 363.6 million euros (£304 million).
Visitors from the UK and Germany accounted for 102.9 million overnight stays in 2024, representing 42.6% of the total for foreign tourists, representing an increase of 4.3% and 8.2% respectively.
The average daily hotel revenue per occupied room (ADR) was 121.50 euros (£101.45) in 2024. The average daily revenue per available room (RevPAR) reached 84.60 euros (£70.64).