The Hyatt hotel chain has focused on Europe and, especially, in Spain, where its presence is still modest given its enormous global size (1,250 hotels in 75 countries and a turnover of 6,290 million dollars from March 2022 to March 2023 , according to the Forbes Global 2000 list). Javier Águila (Badalona, 1975) is responsible for directing the growth strategy of the American company in Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EMEA for its acronym in English).
Why do you want to grow in Europe and specifically in Spain?
There are about ten countries in Europe that are very relevant, either because they represent the population that travels the most within the continent itself, or because they are large recipients of travelers. In the EMEA region we have some 205 hotels in 40 countries, 55 of them in Spain. But we have many more countries in which to grow and a lot of potential in the markets where we are already present. Our competitors, the large American chains, have an average of fourteen establishments in countries where we perhaps have four hotels, so we still have a long way to go. We are leaders in luxury, lifestyle and vacation, and it is in this segment that we want to grow, always with meaning.
They recently opened the first Grand Hyatt in Spain in Murcia. Do you plan to open others in the country?
Yes. There will be another Grand Hyatt this year in Spain. The country is a great destination, we have culture, gastronomy, history, good weather, air connectivity... It didn't make sense that Hyatt had so little presence here. Of the 55 hotels that we currently have, most come from what we built with Alua and with ALG. Now we are bringing our main brands. We have hotels like the Hyatt Regency in Madrid, which is a five-star corporate hotel, a lifestyle but without excessive luxury. Also the Thompson that we have opened in Madrid, the first in Spain. It is an absolute reference brand in luxury and has a wonderful rooftop with 360 degree views of the city.
Do you have plans for Catalonia?
Yes. We have the Hyatt Tower, it is a Hyatt Regency, a brand very focused on the corporate segment. A hotel well located for the connection with the airport and the entrance to Barcelona. Also the Sofia with the Unbound Collection brand. This is a hotel with a lot of potential. Axa and Blasson have bought it and we are working together with them to improve the hotel's positioning, to create a more rounded product that attracts both the client who comes to visit Barcelona and the client who resides here. Barcelona is a unique city, but it has little presence of international brands.
Because?
The hotel sector in Spain has always been highly marked by family chains and by its own management. When I launched the Alua project, over 75% of the hotels were managed by the property. The majority model was neither price nor super-luxury, but a good quality/price proposal, with adjusted costs. In Barcelona there are examples such as the Hotel Arts, the W or the Mandarin, but we believe that there is a lot of potential for more international brand landings, especially in the luxury and lifestyle area, where we are the strongest. Therefore, Barcelona is a place in which we would love to have a much greater presence.
Which Hyatt brands would you like to bring to Barcelona?
The most representative, the ones we call brandbuilders. Barcelona has a large volume of tourism and is increasingly tending towards quality. We believe that there will be more quality tourism and, therefore, the city could very well have a Park Hyatt, a Thompson or a Grand Hyatt. Other cities already have a ceiling in the upper segment, but Barcelona can grow here and companies like ours can contribute to it.
Do you see opportunities in Barcelona then? Are the owners willing to reach agreements?
In general there has been a big change. The Alua model was born from helping investors buy hotels and us managing them. This model is already super-integrated and we see investors buying an asset, repositioning it, making a large investment, and looking for a sophisticated, international operator that is capable of filling the hotel with the right rates and the right client. Hyatt helps this. We have a loyalty program with more than 38 million customers, a very powerful website and well-known brands, especially in the luxury segment. We see owner families that, either due to succession issues or other issues, are interested in this model.
Has the pandemic accelerated this process?
It is something that we have been seeing since 2014 but that the covid has accelerated. And not only in small chains, but we also see how Iberostar has reached an agreement with IHG, or how we in Germany have agreed with the Lindner family so that their portfolio of 34 hotels becomes part of our JdV collection. These are processes where the importance of distribution is increasingly seen, how the average daily rate can be raised and having a partner to help you in areas where perhaps you cannot do so well.
Therefore, we will see more Hyatt brands in Barcelona.
Yes, sure.
What kind of customers can bring to Barcelona? Where do they come from? What do they seek?
Logically, in general, the American client who comes to Europe and to cities well connected to the United States. It is an American client who is highly appreciated, with a high purchasing power who spends when he travels. It's a type of customer that is associated with Hyatt because of our large presence and scale in the United States, where we have 800 hotels. Therefore, he is a traveler that we can bring to Barcelona. We also have extensive experience in corporate, with large companies that we help organize events around the world. We can also bring this type of client. And as we grow in Europe, we also bring in a lot of European customers of all nationalities.
Barcelona is constantly being compared with Madrid, there is a sector that affirms that Barcelona has lost position. Do you agree?
Madrid has opted in recent years to bring luxury brands. There has been a certain migration from Latin American countries, with people with high purchasing power, and a transformation and private investment to improve the offer of both restaurants and hotels. Perhaps in recent years, due to the political situation and the restriction of new licences, there has been less investment in Barcelona. In the end, the investor does not like risk. So, when he does not see a clear situation or there is a certain image of legal insecurity or of being against being able to reform a hotel, he tends to be more cautious. There are investors who have not put Barcelona at the top of the places where they wanted to allocate the money.
Has the situation changed?
It seems that people are seeing how Barcelona can once again be a great investment destination, and of course it has it all. The city has always been one of the world's great destinations and once that reluctance dissipates, we will see more investment. It is already happening, as has been the case of Axa and Blosson with the Sofia hotel. The potential that the city of Barcelona has has nothing to envy to that of Madrid.
