Barceló Hotel Group is a family run business with over 85 years of history, operating more than 230 hotels in 22 countries worldwide. The group oversees operations of four main brands: Royal Hideaway Luxury Hotels & Resorts, Barceló Hotels & Resorts, Occidental Hotels & Resorts and Allegro Hotels.
President of Barceló Hotel Group, Simón Pedro Barceló, says: “The UAE is renowned for its grand luxury hotels. According to the MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities, in 2017 Dubai was ranked fourth in terms of foreign tourists, with 16 million visitors, a number that is expected to reach 20 million in 2020. This insight coupled with the country’s favouring of the middle to high end segment of tourism, an area in which Barceló has an abundance of experience, makes the country an ideal candidate for the brand’s growth plan.”
Dubai and Sharjah have already been introduced to Barceló Hotel Group, with Occidental Sharjah Grand currently under renovation and Barceló Residences Dubai Marina in operation.
“We are currently negotiating and looking forward to signing contracts for eight hotels in the Emirates between now and the end of 2018. We are seeing that the Barceló Hotel Group is being widely welcomed along with its hotel brands thanks to the group's values, its flexible and personalised approach to the goals it sets”, shares Raúl González, CEO of the group.
This year, Barceló Hotel Group will open two more Occidental hotels in the UAE, both four-star establishments, with 239 rooms all together targeting business travellers. Located in IMPZ (International Media Production Zone), a corporate hub of Dubai in close proximity to Al Maktoum International Airport, both hotels shall house numerous conference and meeting rooms. Furthermore, the third Barceló hotel to be launched, currently under construction, will be situated in Al Jadaf, a hotspot for financial activity in the city.
The Spanish hospitality brand has flourished in the European, Latin American, Caribbean and a few North African markets, successfully establishing a presence in business cities but especially in tourism destinations such as Mexico and Dominican Republic with pioneering all inclusive resorts; over and above maintaining its strong hold on its country of origin, Spain.