The Aqua Hotel Grup chain, owned by eight families since it was founded in 1986, diversifies its business after the pandemic with an operation that the CEO himself, Benet Ferrer, describes as "risky". The company has invested 70 million euros to build a new five-star hotel in Santa Susanna (Maresme) which has become the cornerstone of its new strategy given its size and the tourism sector it is aimed at. The Atzavara hotel complex totals 45,000 m2, 465 rooms, four restaurants, thirty swimming pools -22 of them in private rooms-, twenty convention rooms and twelve shops to attract both holiday and corporate tourists, where they have placed a special focus.
“It is a way of seasonally adjusting the activity, providing employment throughout the year and attracting business clients, a segment that is not common in the Maresme area”, says Ferrer.
The hotel has opened to full capacity this year after a phased test last summer and has been built on land owned by Aqua where they previously had two football fields. The group has financed the construction through its own funds in more than 50% and the rest with bank loans. With this, they already have four hotels in Santa Susanna, where their headquarters are also located. They complete their portfolio with a hotel in Lloret de Mar, two in Pineda, one in Malgrat and two more in Barcelona, with the Ohla brand, these five stars and a Michelin star restaurant. In the 2022 financial year, the group earned 62 million euros, already above the pre-pandemic turnover, and for this year they expect to reach 73 million.
The opening of the Atzavara represents a turning point for Aqua, admits Ferrer, and although it carries some risk, he is confident of its success. “We are optimistic and these first months of operation confirm this,” he affirms. During this time the complex has already hosted various corporate events and today it has an occupancy rate of between 60% and 70%. “The rooms with the most demand are the duplexes with a private pool and the villas,” he points out. In luxury, the segment in which they are now positioned, there is no crisis.
The group rules out new acquisitions for now and will focus on reforming and raising the standards of its hotels, all owned. Next winter they plan to invest around four million in renovating an establishment in Pineda and the following year they will allocate around ten million to the Aquamarina hotel in Santa Susanna. In total, the group employs 1,055 people, almost 300 in the new Atzavara hotel alone.
