# Lisbon airport taxi, ACH Balearics, Miralles, Imserso, Social Tourism and hotel tech in Valencia

Canonical-URL: https://notitur.com/en/digest/lisbon-airport-taxi-ach-balearics-imserso-hoteltech
Text-Version: https://notitur.com/en/digest/lisbon-airport-taxi-ach-balearics-imserso-hoteltech.txt
Markdown-Version: https://notitur.com/en/digest/lisbon-airport-taxi-ach-balearics-imserso-hoteltech.md
Language: en
Published: 2026-09-19T11:01:43.491Z
Modified: 2026-09-19T11:01:43.491Z
Author: Joan Sanz
Topics: Hotels, OTAs, Destinations
Summary: Lisbon copies Madrid's flat airport taxi fare, a leadership change at the Balearic hotel association and the Imserso booking website crash mid-campaign.

## Article

The story that should move the needle in any hotel back office today is the collision of three fronts that look unrelated but point to the same place: the price of the traveller's first kilometre, the hoteliers' lobbying muscle and the reliability of the public booking channel. Lisbon is copying Madrid's flat airport taxi fare, ACH Balearics is swapping presidents just as the budget season opens and the Imserso website has stumbled mid-sale. Three signals that customer experience and institutional stability now weigh more than ever on the sector's margin.

## Today's brief

**Lisbon is testing the flat airport taxi fare, an experiment Madrid has already shown has clear winners and losers.** The scheme mirrors the Madrid model, where travellers pay a flat **33 euros** regardless of the destination inside the city. For anyone heading to an out-of-town hotel, it's good news. For anyone staying ten minutes from Terminal 1, it's a surcharge. And for the driver, it kills the incentive to turn down short trips, which is precisely the problem the system has dragged for years, according to [Preferente](https://www.preferente.com/noticias-de-transportes/noticias-de-aerolineas/lisboa-copia-a-madrid-la-tarifa-fija-del-taxi-al-aeropuerto-352000.html).

My take: a flat fare is a second-best solution. It simplifies, yes, but shifts the cost of the short-hop traveller onto the city. If councils don't pair it with quality control and decent airport shift planning, the result will be a positive headline and a slow-burn grumble underneath.

Key points for the trade:

- **Lisbon** imports a model running at 33 euros flat in Madrid, with no public figure yet for the Portuguese capital.
- The change affects the traveller's first impression of the destination, the one they take home.
- It hits revenue at out-of-town hotels, which usually compete on price for the first night.
- And it hits DMCs, who will have to explain at arrival briefings that taxis are no longer a lottery.

## Hotels

**ACH Balearics changes president after Carolina Quetglas's four years at the helm.** The job falls to Miguel Miralles, currently vice-president and CEO of THB Hotels, who takes over without internal opposition. The association represents **23 hotel groups** across the archipelago and Quetglas steps down on **24 September**, according to [Preferente](https://www.preferente.com/noticias-de-hoteles/miguel-miralles-relevara-a-carolina-quetglas-al-frente-de-la-ach-de-baleares-351994.html).

The interesting bit isn't the name but the timing. The Balearic high season closes just as the next budget cycle is fought over, and the islands arrive at that conversation with the tourist tax under review, mounting regulatory pressure on short-term rentals and Palma airport running close to capacity. Miralles isn't inheriting a comfortable seat, he's inheriting a seat with a lot of paperwork on the table.

As we flagged yesterday in [Puente moves 1.03 billion euros in the Balearics amid the election campaign](/en/digest/puente-inversion-aeropuertos-baleares-campana), the archipelago is in full investment-and-politics mode. ACH has to decide whether it positions itself as a proactive voice in that conversation or stays reacting. That's where Miralles plays his hand.

## Agencies and channels

**The Social Tourism website crashes mid-Imserso campaign and Canary agencies want answers.** The Canary Association of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators (ACAVyT) reported the platform failure on **17 September**, in the middle of the sale of the **880,000 places** for the 2026-2027 programme, which opened on **14 September** for priority users and **15** for the rest, according to [Hosteltur](https://www.hosteltur.com/178725_agencias-de-viajes-denuncian-la-caida-de-la-web-de-turismo-social-en-plena-campana-del-imserso.html).

The failure isn't minor. The Imserso programme moves booked-out inventory, with closed deadlines and a client base that doesn't always handle alternative digital channels. When the website goes down, the neighbourhood agency eats the operational cost and the administration takes the headline. ACAVyT is asking for a technical report and IT reinforcement, which is the minimum, but the bigger question remains. If the system buckles every season, someone has to seriously consider outsourcing the infrastructure or upgrading the service level to match the volume.

In opportunity terms, there's a real gap for agencies here. Anyone offering assisted Imserso booking, with phone support and follow-up, has a stable niche with little competitive noise.

## Hotel technology

**Valencia brings institutions and vendors together to show where hotel operations are heading: data, robotics and even exoskeletons.** The event, covered by [10 Minutes News](https://www.ithotelero.com/noticias/valencia-reune-a-instituciones-y-expertos-para-mostrar-como-los-datos-la-robotica-y-los-exoesqueletos-estan-llegando-a-los-hoteles/), paints a useful picture of tech already entering the daily grind of a hotel: data analytics applied to operations, service robots and physical assistance devices for housekeeping and maintenance staff.

Odd but relevant. The exoskeleton isn't a trade-show gimmick. We're talking about preventing sick leave in a role, the room attendant, with notoriously high turnover and known injury rates. Service robotics and operational data are the two fastest-moving legs because they don't depend on the cloud or the customer, they depend on the shift.

What bugs me slightly is the institutional wrapping. Events like this become showcase forums and small chains walk out with a notebook and no budget. If the tech doesn't come down in price, the gap between large chains and boutique operators widens. And that gap shows up later in RevPAR, not in the press release.

## What we are watching

- The final details of Lisbon's flat taxi fare and how far it departs from Madrid's 33 euros.
- Miguel Miralles's first press briefing as ACH president, with the Balearic tourist tax on the agenda.
- Whether the Imserso website publishes a technical report before the 2026-2027 sale closes.
- The next move by mid-sized chains on operational tech, with Hospitech Advisors Cañas Pendientes (Barcelona) less than two weeks away.

## In 30 seconds

- Lisbon copies Madrid's flat airport taxi fare: [Preferente](https://www.preferente.com/noticias-de-transportes/noticias-de-aerolineas/lisboa-copia-a-madrid-la-tarifa-fija-del-taxi-al-aeropuerto-352000.html).
- Miguel Miralles replaces Carolina Quetglas at ACH Balearics: [Preferente](https://www.preferente.com/noticias-de-hoteles/miguel-miralles-relevara-a-carolina-quetglas-al-frente-de-la-ach-de-baleares-351994.html).
- Canary agencies flag the Imserso website crash mid-sale: [Hosteltur](https://www.hosteltur.com/178725_agencias-de-viajes-denuncian-la-caida-de-la-web-de-turismo-social-en-plena-campana-del-imserso.html).
- Valencia puts robotics and exoskeletons in front of the chains: [10 Minutes News](https://www.ithotelero.com/noticias/valencia-reune-a-instituciones-y-expertos-para-mostrar-como-los-datos-la-robotica-y-los-exoesqueletos-estan-llegando-a-los-hoteles/).

The flat taxi fare, the ACH handover and the Imserso crash share one thing: they're all points where the sector doesn't control the experience but still pays for it. The lesson today is that it's worth sticking your head into those conversations before the problem becomes a headline. In Lisbon, in the Balearics and in Madrid, whoever helps shape the system will have fewer reasons to complain afterwards.

## Sources

- Preferente: https://www.preferente.com/noticias-de-transportes/noticias-de-aerolineas/lisboa-copia-a-madrid-la-tarifa-fija-del-taxi-al-aeropuerto-352000.html
- Preferente: https://www.preferente.com/noticias-de-hoteles/miguel-miralles-relevara-a-carolina-quetglas-al-frente-de-la-ach-de-baleares-351994.html
- Hosteltur: https://www.hosteltur.com/178725_agencias-de-viajes-denuncian-la-caida-de-la-web-de-turismo-social-en-plena-campana-del-imserso.html
- 10 Minutes News: https://www.ithotelero.com/noticias/valencia-reune-a-instituciones-y-expertos-para-mostrar-como-los-datos-la-robotica-y-los-exoesqueletos-estan-llegando-a-los-hoteles/

## Citation

Lisbon airport taxi, ACH Balearics, Miralles, Imserso, Social Tourism and hotel tech in Valencia. Notitur. 2026-09-19. https://notitur.com/en/digest/lisbon-airport-taxi-ach-balearics-imserso-hoteltech