Spanish hospitality management company Barceló Hotel Group is investing over US$400 million into a global expansion strategy, which will see it extending its presence in the Middle East, Africa, and Türkiye (MEAT) region, with a line-up of property openings scheduled for 2024 in both new and existing key source markets.
The mega investment leverages the group’s momentum from 2023, during which it experienced exceptional performance, both in Average Daily Rate (ADR) and occupancy rate, where it opened 25 new properties, and achieved a 20 per cent increase in total revenue. This year, the group’s focus will be on acquiring new hotels, refurbishing existing properties and repositioning projects, while working to strengthen its positioning as the leading Spanish hospitality management company in the MEAT region.
“In 2023, Barceló Hotel Group experienced incredible success across our global portfolio. Building on this, we have outlined a strategic expansion approach that will support growing our footprint across thriving global travel destinations. The MENA region has rapidly grown in demand for international tourism, and our growth strategy will focus on key source markets. At Barceló Hotel Group, we are poised to meet the needs of international and local travellers, enhancing guest experiences with the Spanish hospitality flair,” said José Canals, managing director for the Middle East, Asia, Mediterranean and North Africa at Barceló Hotel Group.
Among its phased pipeline of property openings in 2024, the group plans to launch new properties in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Türkiye this year. The Bahrain property – a 195-key hotel in the centre of Manama – will be its debut in the country, and is currently set to open during the second half of 2024. Meanwhile, in the UAE, the group’s Occidental Al Jaddaf is set to undergo a strategic revamp under the ‘Barceló’ hotel brand as the property attains a five-star hotel rating, and is currently preparing to welcome guests as Barceló Al Jaddaf in Q4 2024. In Türkiye, where it already manages and operates Barceló Istanbul and Occidental Taksim in Istanbul, and Occidental Ankara in Ankara, it plans to open a fourth property with a five-star hotel under the Barceló brand in Cappadocia this month. The group will also be debuting its Occidental Hotel & resorts brand in Morocco this year, with a 170-key four-star hotel in Tangier.
The company plans to sign new properties in Oman, across urban travel destinations in Türkiye, refurbish or rebrand a number of properties in Africa, and with strategic openings in Thailand and the Maldives, including a new urban hotel in the latter’s Malé and North Male Atoll.