We explore the role played by Meliá Hotels International in the leisure industry.
How to continue leading the hospitality industry
We have a look at the facts and figures behind one of the most prominent companies in the hospitality industr y, Meliá Hotels International, and the strategies that will allow it to maintain its leading position. There’s much more to it than just sea, sun and sand...
Always being one step ahead and attracting new markets is no easy feat, especially in a sector that has grown and changed so much in recent years. Tourism has become the world’s third-largest export sector, and according to data released by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the number of international tourists had soared to 1.4 billion by the end of 2018. And over the next 15 years, it’s estimated that this figure will have risen by another 800 million new tourists.
But why are they travelling? According to the UNWTO, over half (55%) travel purely for the sake of it with the classic leisure segment continuing to drive the bulk of the tourism business worldwide. And it’s in this market that Meliá Hotels International has spent over six decades as a global leader.
“LEISURE AT HEART, BUSINESS IN MIND”
This is no random slogan. Out of the 20 largest hotel groups in the world, Meliá Hotels International is the only one that has origins in the resort segment. The company has leisure tourism in its DNA, with a history that runs parallel to that of the industry. Founded by Gabriel Escarrer in Majorca in the 1950s, the group already existed when beach tourism was becoming popular a decade later in Mediterranean destinations.
According to Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, current CEO and son of the company’s founder, “this has given us an extraordinary wealth of experience, unique to our company. Our international competitors would only go into this business 30 years later, with us already leading in the Mediterranean.”
Armed with this advantage, they have also been able to join the ranks of the pioneers in promoting new destinations which opened up to tourism from the beginning of the 1990s: Cancun, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic – countries that would go on to be leaders in sea, sun and sand tourism.
PLEASURE (AND BUSINESS): STIRRED, NOT SHAKEN
Today, Meliá Hotels International continues to grow and evolve, allowing it to maintain its position as a market leader. Their motto, “Leisure at heart, business in mind”, is a declaration of their principles. While most major international hotel companies comprise no more than 30% of holiday-focused hotels and resorts, Meliá Hotels International makes up almost 60% of this segment. The Group’s urban Hotels are also increasingly focused on “bleisure”, the recent trend of blending business trips and holidays: an ever-increasing way to travel, which the group is already responding to. The result? An urban experience with a very high leisure and lifestyle component, where everything is taken care of down to the very last detail.
“The business traveller wants to complement their work with gastronomic experiences, wellness-focused activities or sport, some sort of social interaction with the city ’s residents, and, of course, the ability to explore and discover the area itself,” explains the company ’s CEO.
WHILE MOST MAJOR INTERNATIONAL HOTEL COMPANIES COMPRISE NO MORE THAN 30% OF HOLIDAY-FOCUSED HOTELS AND RESORTS, MELIÁ HOTELS INTERNATIONAL MAKES UP ALMOST 60% OF THIS SEGMENT.
WELCOME TO THE RESORT OF THE FUTURE
The typical sun-seeking tourist who spends the whole day lounging around on the beach is in danger of extinction. Travellers increasingly look for resorts that can offer activities to talk about back home and new experiences that are tailored to their own lifestyles. Trends such as wellness, nature, healthy living, sport, contemporary art and music are becoming increasingly popular.
Nowadays, the new leisure tourist wants to immerse themselves in the culture found at their destination. Hotel lobbies have become co-working spaces for coffee dates, good food and work meetings. Rooftops are meeting spaces where people enjoy evening cocktails and mingling with the locals as well as other guests. Even gyms, many overlooking the pool or garden, are open to innovative disciplines and non-guests with yoga courses and running clubs. And of course, the hotel bars – centres for socialising par excellence – which are experiencing their greatest moment with furniture and designs that are aligned to that of a signature cocktail bar, always filled with surprises
AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT ACROSS ALL SEVEN BRANDS
Meliá Hotels International works hard to ensure all of their brands are on the cutting edge of this new kind of leisure tourism. Today, not only are their holiday-focused brands offering these concepts, such as Sol by Meliá or Paradisus by Meliá, but the rest of their brands as well: Meliá, ME by Meliá, Gran Meliá and Innside by Meliá.
For example, the Innside Calviá Beach in Majorca has been transformed into a place to be in the Mediterranean, where locals and guests coexist around a newly built central square, bursting with street food options, fashion boutiques and spaces for families. One of the hotels in the complex even features a rooftop perfect for Instagram, complete with a large hanging glass swimming pool, which is already a major architectural landmark in the area.
Other notable examples of this masterful restructuring are the Meliá Caribe Beach Resort and the Meliá Punta Cana Beach Resort. The modern EcoResort philosophy has been brought to these resorts, largely focused on wellbeing. On the treatment menu, guests can find everything from Hindu massages for the scalp to shiatsu and refl xology... all while the little ones enjoy activities designed just for them.
The ME brand includes notable examples such as ME Cabo – a hotspot for exclusivity and state-of-the-art facilities
– where suites are equipped with DJ booths whilst the beach club gives off an elegant and cosmopolitan flare. At the recently inaugurated ME Sitges Terramar, guests are welcomed to their rooms by their favourite song and enjoy a wide range of other highly personalised comforts. Similarly, the ME Ibiza is where fun, modernity and tradition come together in perfect harmony. Guests can enjoy a rooftop spa, one of the island’s top beach clubs, traditional gastronomy, signature cuisine, pop-up restaurants and a pool with a relaxing chill-out zone – offering an authentic taste of Ibiza. With these advances, the Gran Meliá hotels continue to embrace the luxury desired by the new leisure tourist. Facing the Mediterranean, the Gran Meliá de Mar is a perfect example of this, featuring swimming pools with spectacular views, Balinese beds, haute cuisine, chic bars and the chance to have unique experiences – such as discovering the Sierra de Tramontana from the sea aboard a traditional Balearic boat, or spoiling yourself at the Spa by Clarins® above an exclusive cove in Majorca looking out onto the summer palace owned by the Spanish monarchy.