Hotel Online Special Report
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Francisco Crespi Appointed General Manager 
of the Melia Barcelona - 
Hotel Invests in Renovation
Profile: Sol Melia
 
Francisco Crespí Recasens has been appointed General Manager of the Meliá Barcelona Hotel, replacing Andrés Encinas who has been named Vice President Operations for the real estate company Inmotel Inversiones S.A. 

Francisco Crespí was born in Palma de Majorca and successfully completed university studies in economics, hotel management and law. He began his career in the tourism industry in 1957 in the Viajes Ibero-Alemán travel agency. 

After several positions in hotels such as the Ritz in Barcelona and the Fenix and Meliá Victoria Hotels in Palma de Majorca, Crespí joined the Spanish hotel management company Sol Meliá in 1979, managing the Sol Cóndores Hotel in Minorca. 

After managing several other Company hotels in Cadiz, Bali and Bangkok until 1995, Crespí then became General Manager of the Meliá Gran Sitges until his recent appointment.

Renovation

The four-star Meliá Barcelona Hotel, built in 1975, has recently completed the second stage of the total renovation of the hotel, involving an investment of 450 million pesetas. 

The renovation work forms part of a wider investment programme by the hotel owners, Inmotel Inversiones S.A., with a total of 15,000 million pesetas being spent on improvements in the company�s Spanish hotels. 

The second stage of the project began at the end of July and has included the renovation and refurbishment of 100 of the hotel�s 314 rooms, 42 of which are located on the hotel�s �Royal Service� Executive Floor for business travellers. 

Amongst other things, to make it easier for guests to work in their rooms, fax and modem connections have been installed. The renovation of the remaining hotel rooms will be completed during 1999. 

The emblematic Barcelona hotel has also installed a revolving door in its main entrance and has totally refurbished the lobby area, using green and white marble for decoration. 

With the renovation process which began in 1997 with work on the hotel�s 9 meeting rooms, the Meliá Barcelona aims to strengthen its position as one of the finest hotels in Barcelona, both for the superior quality of its guest facilities and the highly personalised service provided by its staff. 

Sol Meliá, the company which manages the Meliá Barcelona, currently operates three hotels in the Barcelona region: the Meliá Barcelona, the Meliá Confort Apolo and the Meliá Gran Sitges, with a total of 906 rooms.
 

Profile: Sol Melia

19 million persons annually stay at one of the over 59,000 rooms distributed in 245 hotels 

Sol Meliá is absolute leader in the Spanish hotel-sector ranking of urban and tourist hotels with more than 10,000 and close to 20,000 rooms, respectively. It is third in Europe and 14th among the most important hotel chains in the world. 

It has 245 establishments distributed in 25 countries around the world, with more than 59,000 rooms. 19th million persons annually stay at one of its hotels. In 1997 the occupation rate was 71%. 

Sol Meliá has achieved profits after tax of 1,475 million pesetas in the first quarter of 1998, an increase of 21.6% over the same period in 1997. During the first three months of the year, the Company generated management fee revenues of 3,265 million pesetas, an increase of 15.1% over the previous year. 

These improved results are credited to the incorporation of new hotels and improvements in management and sales, accompanied by healthy market conditions in the tourism industry for both city and resort hotels. 

Sol Meliá is the first and only Spanish hotel company quoted on the stock exchange and has seen its share value increase by 18% during the first quarter, reaching 7,200 pesetas per share and a total share capital of 223,200 million pesetas. During the course of the first three months of the year, the value of the Company�s shares reached a maximum 8,300 pesetas. 

Sol Meliá, founded in 1956 by Gabriel Escarrer, its current president, is present in Europe, America, the Mediterranean Basin and Asian Pacific, through its eight brands Gran Meliá, Meliá, Meliá Confort, Sol Élite, Sol Club, Sol, Sol Inn and Paradisus, covering the varying market demands. Today, it has 23,000 employees. 

The company is structured in five independent business areas which have a general management status: European Urban Hotels, European Resort Hotels, America, Cuba and Asian Pacific. Management is organized under five main areas of activity: Economic-Financial, Marketing, Human Resources, Information Systems and Works and Maintenance. 

Fruit of this commitment to quality, Sol Meliá was founding member of the Quality Management Club and received the 1993 Principe Felipe Prize for Business Excellence. At the European level, it was the first hotel company to obtain ISO 9002 Certification for hotel management services in its eight brands and, at the national level, the Meliá Lebreros in Seville was the first hotel to receive the ISO 9000 Quality Certificate. 

The company is also pioneer in the hotel sector incorporating advanced sales and marketing systems, launching the first loyalty programme in the sector - the MaS card and Club Amigos - and signing strategic alliances with other leading companies such as Iberia, Avis and American Express.

 
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Contact:
YPB, Orlando, Fla.
 Kathy Hernandez, 
407/875-1111
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Also See:
Sol Melia Announces Half-Billion-Dollar Five-Year Expansion Plan for Mexico / April 1998 
Sol Melia Set to Open Third Property in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - The 540-suite Melia Tropical Beach Resort / Oct 1998

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