Meliá Hotels is setting its sights on significant expansion across southern Europe and beyond. In an exclusive conversation with Hospitality Investor, Vice President of Development Maria Zarraluqui revealed an interest in wide range of markets, spanning across several continents.
For Meliá, the focus is on markets with a leisure/bleisure approach, with the aim of appealing to travellers in both the business and leisure segments.
Markets in focus
“All the markets that we are looking at are those with a leisure/bleisure approach where you can have a seven-day experience. So in relation to that, our vision about development worldwide is mainly southern Europe, the Balkans where we see a lot of potential, we have been working in Malta as well and in fact are becoming a big player there, opening our first ME hotel in the destination,” Zarraluqui said.
She added that beyond southern Europe but still on the continent, the company is also targeting secondary cities in the UK such as Manchester, Newcastle, and Birmingham, as well as exploring opportunities in Ireland, particularly Dublin.
Looking further afield, she elaborated: “with all the potential development Saudi is doing for the leisure segment, I think that’s one of the amazing destinations where Melia has to be as well as in southeast Asia and the Caribbean.”
“For us, we’re very much into development in the leisure segment where we have the capability to bring huge value,” she added.
Partnerships
And Melia's strategic partnerships play a crucial role in its expansion plans. Last year, ADIA (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) completed a deal to buy two hotel portfolios – totalling 24 hotels - in a joint venture with Meliá. And it seems this partnership won’t stop there.
“We’re looking for more assets together. We’re in the process of doing capex investments for the hotels we bought last year and that is moving very fast. The good thing about this is that we are going to relocate good brands in certain hotels that have the potential to go further. For example, we're bringing the ME brand to the south of Spain, we're bringing the Zel brand to Madrid. So there are a lot of things happening with a lot of brands that are very positive for the assets, for Adia and for us,” Zarraluqui says.
She adds: “We are working strongly with partners to develop assets in the Caribbean, southeast Europe, the Balkans, a lot in the Middle East and in Southeast Asia mainly Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.”
Branded residences
One of the exciting trends Meliá is tapping into is branded residences. Already a part of their portfolio, this trend is gaining traction, with Melia developing branded residences in locations such as the Seychelles – with 120-key hotel and 68-residence The Residences Melia Seychelles - and Thailand where it’s constructing Meliá Phuket Karon residences which is expected to be fully completed by March 2025.
“Branded residences is a very interesting trend and we’re doing branded residences in different locations. We certainly think that is a trend that’s set to grow,” she said, adding “Spain and Portugal are markets that have some potential for us. In Italy and Greece, there are certain movements on this as well.”
Emerging markets
And with Albania and Montenegro tipped to be the next top popular European leisure destinations by experts at the Resort & Residential Hospitality Forum last year, it seems that there’s opportunity ripe for the taking in those markets. And Meliá isn’t being left behind.
“In Albania, we have branded residences, franchise and management - we’ve already signed 18 deals there. We believe strongly in this destination because it has all the components - it is in the middle of Europe so it’s very well connected through road and air travel, they have a government that is putting a lot of effort into the development of the country and we have the right connections to have an understanding of the market.
She adds: “And at the same time, it's a gorgeous country and it hasn’t seen a lot of hotel development. It is a hidden gem that we have been looking at and exploring and I would say we’re now the biggest player in that market.”
Looking ahead, Zarraluqui notes Meliá’s main focus is on southern European countries together with an asset light/franchise approach in the northern European countries as well as in the Caribbean, Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. It seems Meliá is poised for significant growth in the leisure segment, with a keen eye on emerging markets.