Hotels, Meliá accelerates on Italia: 27 million plan and six new facilities

With more than 27 million euros of investment, six openings in the pipeline and new operations under study, Meliá Hotels International is launching its expansion strategy in Italia for the next two years and beyond. Spain's largest hotel chain, founded in Palma de Mallorca in 1956 and therefore celebrating 70 years in business this year, follows the common thread that accompanies the choices of other large global players: luxury and Southern European destinations, at a time when even Italia has become a preferred location for prestigious real estate projects.

The first piece of the strategy will be the Residenza del Cardinale (The Meliá Collection), a boutique hotel with only 28 rooms that will debut next month a few steps away from the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan. An opening that will bring to five the hospitality giant's properties in the Lombard capital, all belonging to different brands. In May, the Hotel Auronzo Dolomites Affiliated by Meliá, a high-altitude project with 53 rooms, will also open its doors. But Sicily will be one of the new fronts of expansion for the group led by Gabriel Escarrer, son of the founder of Mhi and current CEO. On the island - a territory still little covered by luxury hospitality - Meliá will open a hotel in Noto (with 127 rooms) in 2027, while in the two-year period 2028-29 three different projects will add over 700 keys to the island's portfolio. In Sicily, the expansion will follow two lines: one linked to the main cities, Palermo in primis, and the other focused on top-level resorts with opportunities under study in the areas between Taormina, Licata, Cefalù and Sciacca. The six facilities will be added to the ten already operating around the country, but the expansion cannot be said to be complete.

'In Italia we see great potential for growth, in the urban segment but also in the resort segment,' Escarrer explains exclusively to Il Sole 24 Ore. 'We want to increase our presence in the four big metropolises: Milan, Rome, Florence and Venice. But I believe there is also potential in smaller cities such as Turin, Verona or Bergamo'. For the three-year period 2025-27, there are already investments of 24 million euro on the table aimed at rebranding and repositioning the structures, to which 3 million in key money (contributions paid to the owners of the structures) will be added to optimise the hotels under management.

Outside Italy, the pipeline of openings over the next two years is ambitious: the group will open between 70 and 80 hotels - for a total of more than 16,000 rooms - of which about 80 per cent will be in the premium and luxury segments. "We are concentrating our expansion on leisure," adds Escarrer, "we have a clear focus on the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and South-East Asia, as well as some tourist cities in Central and Southern Europe. In addition, we are focusing on luxury destinations such as the Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles and Maldives'. Despite the complex geopolitical scenario, the Arab world thus remains a relevant area in the group's expansion plans, with the Gran Meliá in Dubai now scheduled to open in 2027. The results confirm the validity of the strategy and the shift towards luxury: "The premium and luxury segments now represent 68% of the group's portfolio and generate 40% of operating profit, with a value per room that is 80% higher than the other segments," the CEO points out.

The Spanish hôtellerie giant (listed on the Madrid stock exchange with a capitalisation of EUR 2.2 billion) ended 2025 with a net profit of EUR 200.2 million (+23.6%), revenues of EUR 2.07 billion and more than 360 hotels around the world. The solid operational performance is confirmed by a global RevPar (revenue per available room) up by 5.4%. Despite the investments, the group maintains a balanced financial profile with a net debt of 778.6 million. The outlook for 2026 remains positive, with bookings in the portfolio already 11% higher than the previous year. But Escarrer is not only looking to traditional hospitality for growth. The future will also lie in branded or premium residences and villas, a model that is already well established in some markets and that allows costs to be mitigated and the return on investment to be accelerated. The group presides over the segment with around 28 active projects and is now looking towards the Caribbean and the Mediterranean itself.