“The Barcelo-Plateno partnership goal is to reach a minimum of 100 hotels in 10 years, giving the Barcelo Hotel Group more visibility among the 80 million members of the Plateno loyalty program.”
Celebrating its 85th anniversary, 2016 has been a big year for Barcelo Hotel Group. Not only did the Spanish hotel company announce that it will open its first Five-Star hotel in Morocco, but it also signed a major master franchise agreement with Plateno Group, China’s second-largest hotel company.
Announced in June, the Barcelo-Plateno agreement aims to combine the expertise of the European hotelier with the knowledge of the Chinese market, according to Raul Gonzalez, the Barcelo Hotel Group’s CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The partnership grants Plateno the right to operate under the Barcelo brand name in China and other countries in the region. Its goal is to reach a minimum of 100 hotels in 10 years, giving the Barcelo Hotel Group more visibility among the 80 million members of the Plateno loyalty program—a key advantage when taking into account that China is the world’s No. 1 outbound tourism market.
More recently, Barcelo announced an agreement with the Tikida Group on Oct. 25, creating a joint venture to manage Rivoli Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco. The current property will undergo an extensive $20.7 million renovation to become a Five-Star property. When completed in time for a 2018 opening, the hotel will feature 206 guest rooms as well as two restaurants, a bar, pool, spa, fitness center and seven meeting rooms. This will be the second Barcelo property in Morocco, joining the smaller Barcelo Casablanca, located a mere 1,000 feet from the Rivoli.
