Meliá Hotels International, the leading hotel company in Spain, has begun its participation in the 43rd edition of Fitur, at which its Vice Chairman and CEO, Gabriel Escarrer, this morning presented the company's strategic vision and growth prospects for 2023, a year in which it will continue to prioritise its strengths in brand innovation and experiences, leadership in resort hotels, digitalisation, international expansion and sustainability, all key factors in the resilience shown by the company over the past year.

Despite geopolitical and economic circumstances, Escarrer indicated that the demand for travel which shot up after the pandemic travel restrictions were lifted, is also resisting the fear of recession, and thus accelerating the rate of recovery of the business. With prudent optimism, he forecasted global growth in 2023, indicating that reservations for future stays are up 35% on melia.com compared to the previous year. He also described a consistent recovery in city hotels and the MICE segment, the latter particularly driven by the revival of the US market. 

Innovation and disruption, key factors in the new business environment 

Meliá Hotels International has continued to seek further brand and product innovation given the growing demand for lifestyle experiences. In this context, Escarrer presented the two new company brands created in 2022. Firstly Falcon's Resorts by Meliá, an innovative concept combining an avant-garde hotel, a theme park, and shopping and leisure facilities, which already has its first hotel in the Dominican Republic. Secondly, Zel Hotels, the result of a joint venture with the tennis player Rafa Nadal, a brand with a 100% Mediterranean style which Escarrer announced will open his first hotel this summer in Mallorca after the renovation of the current INNSiDE Cala Blanca Hotel in Palmanova. 

With regard to digitalisation, the CEO of Meliá highlighted the launch of the new melia.com, which already generates more than 40% of total sales, and the creation of Meliá Escapes in response to new, more digital purchasing behaviour. Meliá Escapes is a platform managed by Meliá and Logitravel which offers users the chance to buy packages with their hotel and flights, as well as other travel experiences and services. 

A global portfolio of more than 100,000 rooms 

In 2022 Meliá opened a total of 32 hotels with 7,500 rooms. Growth prioritised holiday destinations in Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, and was another of the milestones explained by Escarrer as he reflected on the addition in 2022 of more than 8,200 rooms. The recent addition of the first Meliá hotel in the Seychelles and the agreement with Vinpearl in Vietnam were two of the year's highlights, the latter allowing it to become the second largest hotel operator in Vietnam. This growth allowed the company to take its total room count to over 100,000 in operating hotels and those in the process of opening. 

Escarrer also explained that the company has reached an agreement to manage what was previously the Rey Juan Carlos Hotel in Barcelona and the adjoining Palau de Congressos de Catalunya. Meliá will convert this iconic hotel which has been closed since 2020 into a new Gran Meliá hotel which Escarrer explained will represent the recovery of a high value-added asset for the travel industry in Barcelona.  

For 2023, Escarrer announced at least 25 openings in 14 countries, including major projects such as the Palazzo Cordussio Gran Meliá, a Renaissance palace in the heart of Milan, or the first ME by Meliá hotel in Malta, where it will also open three other hotels. The ME by Meliá brand will also make its debut in Guadalajara, Mexico. In Albania, one of the emerging holiday destinations in Europe to which the company has paid special attention in recent times, the company will open two new hotels, while in Spain a new INNSiDE by Meliá is scheduled for Tenerife. In Asia Pacific, Meliá will continue to open hotels in countries such as Vietnam, Thailand or Malaysia, extending its presence on a continent where it will have more than 50 hotels by 2025. Finally, the company has also announced new openings in Tanzania, Cape Verde, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.