Antonio Catalan (ACHM Hotels by Marriott): “Spain cannot accommodate another 15 million tourists” | Companies

Antonio Catalan, president of ACHM Hotels by Marriott (formerly AC Hotels), one of the brands of the world’s largest hotel company, has sharply criticized Spain’s tourism business model, which is targeting 100 million foreign travelers after reaching a historic record. record in 2023 with 85.3 million tourists. “We don’t have prices, but we have a lot of clients. Spain will not be able to welcome another 15 million tourists this year. That’s changing though, with traveler spending up 15% from 28%. This is the right way,” he said during the presentation of the renovation of the old AC Cuzco Hotel, which will now be called The Westin Cuzco, after a renovation costing 17 million euros. Marriott International representative consulted Five days He clarified that the agreement on the use of the above-mentioned flag has not yet been signed. “We are in discussions with ACHM regarding a potential rebranding of the AC Hotel Cuzco, but no formal agreement has yet been reached.”

This is the third hotel of The Westin brand in Spain, as there are currently two other hotels of the brand in Valencia and Marbella (Malaga), as well as the first in Madrid. In fact, he is not the first either, since the only one that existed in Madrid up to this point was the Palace Hotel in Madrid, owned by Archer and managed by Marriott. The two companies terminated their management agreement at the end of 2023, and the new brand will be The Luxury Edition, also from the Marriott portfolio. At the new The Westin Cuzco, average prices will range from 400 to 450 euros per day, thanks to the attraction that Catalan predicts due to the macro events that will take place in Nuevo Bernabeu or in the future Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions.

Like the rest of the hotel industry, the president of ACHM Hotels by Marriott blamed the tourist apartments for being largely responsible for the bad image of tourism and protests against the arrival of foreign travelers. “The growth of tourist apartments is absurd. There are 14,000 illegal immigrants living in Madrid alone. “It is not competition that worries us, it is a matter of safety and discomfort for neighbors,” he said after a meeting on Monday with Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez Almeida, who has de facto banned the activity for neighbors. all those tourism accommodation managers who do not have a license.

Catalan announced that it plans “at least ten new openings in the next two years”, particularly in cities such as Madrid, Rome, Lisbon, Seville, Valencia, Turin, Verona or the Portuguese Algarve. He also announced that Belagua, the company that owns the assets, plans to invest 100 million this year, divided between 50 million for new assets and 50 million for the renovation of properties. The President of ACHM Hotels by Marriott paid particular attention to Madrid, where there are already four new licensed projects and two more that are likely to be implemented in the near future. “Madrid is attractive and has the potential to grow even further, and like Barcelona, ​​it continues to recover historical average prices and occupancy times.” The manager also announced that the company he heads has also expressed interest in the upcoming hotel projects that will be launched in the T4 and T2 zones of Madrid’s Adolfo Suarez Barajas Airport.

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