Meliá seeks international 'bleisure' business

Meliá Hotels International is looking to grow its business, and at FITUR, Spain’s international tourism trade fair, company EVP Gabriel Escarrer Jaume shared updates on where Meliá would be focusing its efforts for the rest of the decade. 

Bleisure Growth

The priority, Escarrer said, would be to grow resort and "bleisure" hotels—those that focus on both business and leisure segments, primarily in urban markets. 

Meliá currently has 51 openings planned up until 2020. The company is set to open the Paradisus Playa Mujeres in Mexico and the Meliá Internacional Varadero in Cuba. These follow investments made last year in the Dominican Republic, with the opening of the Grand Reserve at Paradisus Palma Real, Meliá Caribe Beach and Meliá Punta Cana Beach. The company also will open at least 10 hotels in the Americas.

The company has 16 openings planned for Asia and the Pacific Coast—three of them in Vietnam, two in China and also the first hotel in the Maldives, the Gran Melia Huravee, scheduled to open this year.

The highest growth for the company is concentrated in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with at least 25 hotels to open, including hotels in major European countries and the ME Dubai Hotel.

In Spain, the company is preparing projects in urban destinations, such as the future ME Barcelona, but is prioritizing growth in resorts, where it sees major opportunities in adding some of the numerous independent hotels that require repositioning through management contracts.

Innside's Outbound Expansion

Meliá's Innside brand, a key component of the urban "bleisure" trend, will expand to include resort destinations. 

The move is meant to target millennial travelers in the midscale lifestyle category, Escarrer said, where the lines between work and leisure are becoming more fluid.
 

The brand currently has 22 hotels and will expand into resort locations in Europe and Indonesia, including Fuerteventura, Mallorca and Bali, as well as urban locations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Notable Meliá Openings, 2019 – 2020

EUROPE

Innside Milan - Italy

Scheduled to open at the end of 2019, the hotel will have 145 rooms, meeting rooms, a gym and a restaurant.

Innside Paris - France

When it opens in February, this property will have 266 rooms next to the Roissy airport.

Innside Amsterdam - The Netherlands

Located in the financial district of Zuidas in the south of Amsterdam, the hotel will have 328 rooms when it opens in 2020.

Innside Liverpool - United Kingdom

The 207-room Innside Liverpool will be a seven-minute walk from the historic city center and five minutes from the port. The opening is scheduled for early 2020.

Meliá Frankfurt - Germany

The 403-room hotel will be located in the Bockenheim district, next to the Natural History Museum, one kilometer from the central train station and next to one of the largest trade fair sites in the world. Its opening is scheduled for early 2020.

AMERICA, AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Paradisus Playa Mujeres – Mexico

The Paradisus Playa Mujeres will have 498 rooms when it opens in April.

Meliá Internacional Varadero – Cuba

This seafront hotel will open in February with 946 rooms, 10 restaurants, 14 bars, a YHI Spa and a convention center.

Gran Meliá Arusha - Tanzania

The first Gran Meliá hotel in Africa is scheduled to open in May with 171 rooms and almost 2,000 square meters of meeting and event space

Meliá Saidia Residences - Morocco

This resort hotel will have 192 rooms when it opens in July. 

ME Dubai - United Arab Emirates

Located in the Opus building designed by Zaha Hadid, the ME Dubai is slated to open in 2020 with 153 rooms, including 39 serviced apartments.  

ASIA PACIFIC

Meliá Shanghai Parkside - China

Located by the main entrance to Disneyland Shanghai, the Meliá Shanghai Parkside will have 88 rooms when it opens in March.

Gran Meliá Zhengzhou - China

When it opens in Q4 this year, the 388-room hotel will be in the middle of the city's business district.

Meliá Ho Tram - Vietnam

Located on Ho Tram Beach, this hotel will have 152 rooms and 69 villas as well as a YHI Spa. Its opening is scheduled for the first half of 2019.

Meliá Cam Ranh Bay – Vietnam

Located on the southeast coast of Vietnam, the hotel will have 200 rooms and 100 villas when it opens at the end of 2019.

Innside Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia

The hotel will be integrated into the Eko Cheras urban project, providing a sustainable approach in the capital of Malaysia. With 238 rooms, its opening is scheduled for the end of 2019.

Gran Meliá Huravee - Maldives

This hotel will be the first for the company in the Maldives with 96 private villas when it opens in 2020.

Innside Saigon - Vietnam

The hotel is scheduled to open in mid-2019 and will have 72 rooms  near the main attractions in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meliá Bandung - Indonesia

Located in Dago, the hotel will have 254 rooms, a spa, infinity pool and several meeting spaces when it opens in 2020.