SPAIN’s hospitality giant Meliá, which started operations with just one tiny hotel more than half a century ago, aims to position its luxury ME by Meliá brand in “every special city and resort destination” across the world.
But wherever it goes, from Brazil to the Bahamas, Meliá will continue to offer guests its inimitable brand of Spanish hospitality, says Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, the vice-chairman and CEO of Meliá Hotel International.
“My father Gabriel Escarrer founded the company by renting a small hotel in Palma de Mallorca in 1956, and thus started Meliá, which has today become Span’s leading hotel company,” says Escarrer Jaume.
With a “balanced portfolio” of urban and resort hotels, Meliá is currently present in 40 countries under seven hotel brands: Paradisus, Gran Meliá, ME by Meliá, Meliá, Innside, Tryp and o Sol hotels.
“Currently, we are the leaders in Spain and ranked third and 19th in Europe and the world respectively,” he says, attributing the group’s exponential growth to its “excellent” management model, the value of its brands, and a leadership profile which allows low capital-intensive growth through hotel management agreements.
Meliá also takes with it a bit of Spain wherever it expands, as Escarrer Jaume points out. “We have strong Spanish roots and an unmistakably Latin flavour, as seen in the high service standards of our brands.”
He continues: “We wants to have a ME by Meliá hotel in every special city and resort destination in dynamic markets such as the GCC, North America and Europe. However, we do not wish to have a large portfolio worldwide but the right number in the right spots because this luxury brand’s clientele is very exclusive.”
EXPANSION
Meliá’s focus is on key markets in the GCC such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain in addition to North Africa.
The luxury lifestyle ME by Meliá brand is expected to make its Middle East debut in Dubai in 2016 and also become the second Meliá property in the UAE.
The new 100-room ME by Meliá Dubai will be located within the futuristic Opus tower in Dubai’s Business Bay district, which is being built by local developer Omniyat and designed by world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid.
Escarrer Jaume says the ME Dubai will not fail to disappoint and is destined to become a “social epicentre in the city” while expressing delight at Melia’s alliance with Omniyat and their choice of Zaha Hadid for the project.
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The master bathroom of the presidential suite in Meliá Vienna |
“Zaha Hadid is a genius. Her designs are very special and endowed with a unique timeless modernity. This location deserves a flagship building; a hotel that will mark a new milestone in Dubai’s hospitality history. Hadid is a wonderful architect, and this project bears her unmistakable signature,” he says.
Following the announcement of ME by Melia in Dubai, Meliá has launched two new properties under the same brand at the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Ibiza.
“The new ME by Meliá hotels will be this summer’s big event for the industry in Europe. Mallorca and Ibiza are favoured destinations in the Mediterranean, and with these hotels, we are opening these markets to customers that like high-end lifestyle experiences,” he says.
Located in waterfront enclaves, ME by Meliá Mallorca and ME by Meliá Ibiza will be open in summer this year.
BRAZIL PLANS
Meliá also plans to launch 20 hotels in Brazil by 2016 and is building several resorts in different points of the Brazilian geography.
Why the significant interest in Brazil?
“We have accelerated our plans because Brazil is set to host the Fifa World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. This strategy is proving successful as we are getting more and more awareness, both for inbound tourism and for outbound tourists travelling from Brazil. We are also taking advantage of high levels of investor interest in Brazil,” says Escarrer Jaume.
Two Caribbean properties were launched late in November last year. The two resorts, Paradisus La Perla and Paradisus La Esmeralda, with more than 900 rooms together, have found favour in North America, one of the “most demanding” feeder markets, says Escarrer Jaume.
“Financially, the investment has also been a success, as the hotels have more than doubled their earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) in 2013,” he says.
In addition, in November last year Meliá Hotels International signed an agreement to operate an all-inclusive resort in a tourist and leisure complex built by Baha Mar on a 20-acre beachfront sanctuary just 12 minutes from Nassau International Airport in the Bahamas.
EMERGING MARKETS
Meliá’s strategic plan for 2012-2014 seeks to add 120 new hotels to its portfolio, of which 50 per cent would be in emerging markets such as Latin America, China and South Asia, and North Africa.
“So far, we have signed up for more than 80 hotels, with over half of them in these emerging markets. In just two years we have doubled our presence in Asia and we are certain that this development is just the beginning for our future in this part of the globe. We like to grow hand in hand with strategic partners such as the Greenland Group in China, which is a major local player in the tourism industry.
“We have a long way to go in Asia but our strengths and values – like our Latin spirit, our service orientation and passion – are very much appreciated in the region, where we expect to have a significant portfolio in a couple of years from now,” he concludes.
By Rashi Sen