Skift Take
In the tier below the big six hotel companies are a raft of others, jostling for position. Melia Hotels is one of the biggest players in Europe and it will be interesting to hear how it differentiates itself from the competition.
Melia Hotels International is something of a rarity in the hospitality world, in that it is still majority owned by the founding family.
In 1956, Gabriel Escarrer Juliá started the company with one hotel on the Spanish island of Majorca and he remains involved as Chairman. His son, Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, is the current chief executive.
The Escarrer family has gradually turned Melia from a leisure specialist — think resorts in sunny destinations — to one with a substantial interest in corporate travel as well as meetings and events.
The destination focus has also shifted. Spain remains a key market for the company but over the years it has expanded into China, southeast Asia and the Middle East.
At the upcoming Skift Forum Europe in Berlin on April 26, Chief Operating Officer Andre Gerondeau will talk about how Melia's past, present and future.
What follows is an edited version of a recent Skift interview with Ger
