A month has passed since we brought together more than 1000 people in the city of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). We have faced the challenge of hosting our guests during the 3 days of the event. We talked to Maribel, our Logistics Manager, to find out how she managed it.

How did you prepare to accommodate 1000 people in the city of Santiago de Compostela?

Well, the usual process is to manage contracts with hotels near the venue, but in this case, given the limited availability of hotel rooms and the large number of guests, we also had to resort to room booking websites such as booking.com in order to get as many rooms as possible.

In addition to that, we had to organise ourselves very well internally, and for that we created our own website to manage reservations, payments, and changes in an easy and efficient way.

What are the main challenges in managing so many bookings?

The biggest complication for this event was managing the dates. There are several events scheduled in Santiago at the same time and this reduced the flexibility of dates in certain hotels.

Another challenge was being able to accommodate everyone in the same group in the same hotel as most of the accommodation we found was small establishments.

Also, last-minute requests are always a challenge as it sometimes requires juggling to keep the client happy.

Lastly, what were the problems faced by customers?

The most recurrent complaint was the shortage of flights or the complicated stopovers to Santiago de Compostela. This obviously had a direct impact on date requirements and reduced flexibility.

Overall, accommodating so many people in the city of Santiago de Compostela has been a challenge, but with a little creativity, much organisation and the commitment of the team, we have managed to meet the expectations and satisfy the needs of our guests.