The Matutes Family Considers Future of the Ayre Hotel in Oviedo

20 January 2018 – La Voz de Asturias

Palladium Hotel Group, the hotel group owned by the Matutes family, is reconsidering the future of its hotel in Oviedo, the Hotel Ayre. The Director-General of the company, Abel Matutes Prats, is considering including the establishments from the Ayre brand within the Only You brand (a concept of boutique city hotels), but it has not ruled out selling certain establishments.

The Ibiza-based hotel company has owned Ayre Hotels together with Parinver, the investment arm of El Corte Inglés since 2006. The chain comprises ten establishments (located in Oviedo, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Córdoba and Sevilla). Some of these hotels may be included within the Only You brand and others may be sold in a commitment by the company to strengthen its hotel management business over hotel ownership. Nevertheless, in August, sources at El Corte Inglés said that “there were no plans afoot to sell any stakes”.

“We are making a significant effort to move towards a management model. We are a company that owns everything and our objective is to move towards a similar mix to that of our competitors. Over the medium term, we have to go down that route”, explained the director who wants to strengthen his firm’s role as a manager through agreements with owners and investment funds to grow faster.

The company considers that in Spain there is space to grow with the Only You brand in places such as Sevilla, Málaga, Valencia, Bilbao and San Sebastian, as well as in other European countries such as Portugal and Italy. “Once we are established in Europe, the plan will be to make the leap to North America”, he revealed.

The hotel group is very satisfied with the performance of its Only You Hotels brand (boutique city hotels), which currently comprises two establishments in Madrid. And the future outlook is so positive that it is looking for new operations for this brand both within and outside of Spain.

“We want to grow quickly with this brand but everything will depend on the welcome it receives when it opens”, said the company’s Director General, Abel Matutes Prats, who explained that the idea is to also incorporate hotels outside of Spain in both cities and tourist areas.

Turnover

With the repositioning of its brands, the hotelier owned by the Matutes family forecasts “an important jump” in terms of revenues over the next two years, which could rise by 10% and whereby exceed the €600 million reached in 2017 thanks to the consolidation of the Only You brand, the opening of new hotels in Mexico at the end of the year and another couple of projects “which are currently under consideration”, but which will also close in 2018.

Palladium closed 2017 with investment in Europe and North America amounting to more than €88 million in terms of renovations and €125 million in new builds. In terms of the hotel company’s objective for the coming year, it plans to spend €50 million on renovations and €180 million on new constructions.

Original story: La Voz de Asturias

Translation: Carmel Drake

Palladium Opens 2nd Only You Hotel In Madrid

14 November 2016 – Expansión

Only You has come a long way since the end of February, when Abel Matutes Prats first introduced the future Hotel Only You Atocha and the project was still a building site. Now the scaffolding has been removed, and the second hotel owned by the brand that belongs to the Palladium Hotel Group is ready to go.

The establishment is expected to be opened within the next few days – definitely before the end of November – to join the firm’s other Only You property on Calle Barquillo in Madrid. This new hotel, located on Paseo Infanta Isabel, will have 206 rooms (192 doubles and 14 suites).

Designed by Lázaro Rosa-Violán

The interior designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán has worked with the Matutes family once again and has made the property its own. The firm has created an industrial environment, with old fashioned tiled floors, cobblestones, retro styles and multi-spaces, all under one roof.

The lobby, restaurant and reception all merge into one and are full of typical Rosa-Violán features. (…). In this vein, the hotel will house a retro American-style gym, which will offer a personal trainer service and running club.

Here, one sometimes feels that one is not in a hotel, but rather in a fashion store. A sensation sought and found. The dream of any hotel is to turn its restaurant into a pilgrimage destination, even for non-guests. Hotel Only You Atocha will have its own Trotamundos restaurant, with the gastronomy of chef Javier Mora, alongside Jon Giraldo and Jaime Liebermande (chefs from Spoonik in Barcelona), who will present a mixture of cuisine from Latin America, Asia and Spain.

The bar will also be large, and will offer a comprehensive wine list and cocktail menu. There will be a Mamá Framboise (cake and pastry) stand in the lobby of the hotel, with recipes from Alejandro Montes.

The top floor will house a Youniverse restaurant, which will serve breakfast. The space has different corners and themed trolleys with tables both inside and on the terrace. In addition, the hotel has a well-appointed treatment room managed by Caroli Natura Bissé and adaptable meeting rooms for events. (…).

Only You Hotel Atocha is located opposite the train station of the same name.

Original story: Expansión (by Nerea Serrano)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Palladium & ECI Consider Rebranding Valencia Hotel Under ‘Only You’ Ensign

7 March 2016 – Expansión

The Palladium Hotel Group and El Corte Inglés are considering converting Hotel Ayre Astoria, acquired in 2006 for around €36 million, into an Only You branded establishment.

Located in the heart of Valencia, the Ayre Astoria Palace has 204 rooms and, due to its size and location, is emerging as the most likely candidate to form part of the new ensign that the family chain, owned by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and the retail group, which each hold a 50% stake. Currently, the urban Only You brand has one property on the Madrilenian street of Calle Barquillo, and in the next few months, it will add a new hotel in Atocha, with 206 rooms.

The hotel chain’s strategy includes establishing this premium brand in other Spanish cities, where it already has assets that could be converted into Only You properties, before setting its sights on growth overseas. Specifically, its internationalisation plans include expanding into the main European capital cities, as well as making the leap across the Atlantic (to Latin America and the USA). The plan is to complete these three stages over the next five years.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Palladium Strengthens ‘Only You’ With New Hotel In Madrid

24 February 2016 – Cinco Días

The Palladium group is strengthening its presence in Madrid with the launch of a second Only You hotel. The four-star property, located opposite Atocha train station, will have 206 rooms and is expected to open its doors in June.

The hotel is following in the footsteps of the first Only You hotel, located on Calle Barquillo in Madrid, which has become one of the iconic boutique establishments in the city. “We want to operate a dynamic model under the umbrella of the Only You chain, to serve both a hotel with 100 rooms, as well as one with 250 rooms”, said Juan Serra yesterday, the CEO of Only You and Ayre Hoteles, the urban division of the Palladium group, in which El Corte Inglés holds a 50% stake and which recorded double digit growth figures last year.

In this way, the Group has established a period of between six and ten months to analyse the evolution of its brand and begin its expansion. To drive its growth, Palladium will evaluate the conversion of some of its hotels, possibly including its property in Valencia, as well as its management model. According to Abel Matutes Prats, the CEO of Palladium, the group may also extend its brand “to several Spanish and European cities over the next five years, and we are not ruling out certain Latin American capital cities”. “We have built the foundations for growth and that is what we intend to do”, said the executive.

The future hotel, which will employ around 60 people, has received an investment of around €38 million, to finance the purchase of the property and its renovation. The opening of the establishment will also coincide with the extension of the hotel on Calle Barquillo, to include 55 new rooms.

The Palladium group, which recorded revenues of more than €500 million last year, is also working on the construction of its second Hard Rock Café, in Tenerife, where it will invest around €80 million and which is expected to be ready in November. Moreover, it will spend another €700 million on three hotels in Cancun, one of which will operate under the Usuahïa brand. This growth is being financed primarily using own funds.

Abel Matutes also acknowledged that the company is currently evaluating the Socimi (company structure) formula, at a time when the group owns all but three of its hotels, but he highlighted that this analysis is at “an embryonic stage”. And he said that the group will focus its investment on America over the next few years.

Original story: Cinco Días (by Laura Salces)

Translation: Carmel Drake