Meliá Hotels accelerates its growth in Asia Pacific to reach 45 hotels in the region

Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, Executive Vice President and CEO of Meliá Hotels International, as well as the COO, André P. Gerondeau and the Global Development Managing Director Maria Zarraluqui, have completed another annual tour of Asia Pacific accompanied by the Regional Vice President Bernardo Cabot, during which they visited several destinations in China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, amongst others. During the trip, Escarrer signed agreements for several new hotels with major local partners, taking the total number of hotels in the region to 45. Meliá has grown quickly in Asia Pacific, adding more than 30 hotels over the last 5 years and multiplying its portfolio in the region by five.

Of the 44 hotels in operation or in the pre-opening phase, 16 are in Indonesia, 10 in China, 7 in Vietnam, 4 in Thailand, 5 in Malaysia, 1 in Mongolia and 1 in Myanmar. The company’s commitment to the region goes beyond growth in these markets, and it has also developed a service programme adapted to Chinese guests to ensure hotels all over the world are better prepared to meet the needs and expectations of this increasingly powerful feeder market. The company expects to add new hotels by the end of the year.

In China, the company will add a new hotel under the Meliá Hotels & Resorts brand, Meliá Xueye Lake, which is in Shandong province next to the prosperous city of Ji’nan where Meliá already operates the MeliáJinan.

In Thailand, one of the best destinations in Southeast Asia, the company adds two new Meliá Hotels & Resorts: the Meliá Chiang Mai in the second most popular tourist destination in the country, and INNSIDE Bangkok Sukhumvit, the company’s second hotel in the capital after the Meliá Bangkok, signed up in 2016.

Regarding Vietnam, Melia has signed a new property, that will be managed under the Meliá brand: Meliá Ba Vi Mountain Retreat, in a natural paradise to the west of Hanoi. Gabriel Escarrer, Executive Vice President and CEO of Meliá also signed an agreement for the future Meliá Bukit Tinggi in the state of Pahang in Malaysia. The company’s portfolio and pipeline already include 4 hotels in Malaysia.

For Gabriel Escarrer, “the size of this market, the strong organic growth we are seeing in China and Southeast Asia, and the progressive growth in revenues in the region, lead us to predict that in the medium term the region will make a contribution as important to company results as Cuba represented after its addition 30 years ago”.

Committed to alliances with major partners

The company has been operating in Asia Pacific for 30 years, and the region is a perfect example of its business model, focused on the addition of hotels under management agreements rather than through acquisitions. This is a key feature of the company’s growth strategy. For Bernardo Cabot, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, “Meliá has an attractive value proposition for hotel owners and investors, thanks to its know-how, its extensive portfolio of leading brands, and its human potential and service culture, which increase its appeal in such a demanding market as Asia.”

The relevance of the APAC markets is increasing for Meliá Hotels International year on year, considering both the inbound and the outbound travellers. In line with the Company’s strategic commitment and the priority of the Asian market, the new management agreements signed by Gabriel Escarrer will strengthen the relationships of the company with important financial and real estate groups in the region, such as Greentown China, TCC-Land in Thailand and Aurelian Land SDN BHD.