Melia making stops across Canada

Teams from Meliá Hotels International paid a visit to Ontario yesterday to provide an update on the Spanish hotel chain's latest developments for the coming year. 

With a media luncheon followed by a trade dinner reception, the Meliá team was busy touching base with its Canadian market - an important task, according to Rodolfo Cresta, leisure sales manager for North America, and not one to be overlooked despite the brand's worldwide reach.

"Canada is our second largest market in Mexico and the Caribbean," Cresta told PAX. "And it's a seasonal market, but it's so significant to us."

The products

Founded in 1956, Meliá is the largest group accommodation brand in Spain, and the third largest player in Europe, behind Accor and InterContinental.

In total, Meliá has 353 hotels in 35 countries on four continents, including 155 in Spain and 103 in the rest of Europe, 13 in Asia and 82 in the Americas. 

Meliá properties are operated under a variety of trademarks, including Gran Meliá Hotels & Resorts, Paradisius and ME by Meliá in the luxury arena; Meliá (100 hotels worldwide) and Innside (urban) for the upscale four-star market, and Sol (Sol Hotels & Resorts, Sol Katmandu Park & Resorts, Sol and Sol House Beach House) and Tryp for the midrange sector.

Meliá's 11 Gran Meliá Hotels & Resorts, held within the brand's hotel management portfolio, and are primarily located in the heart of major cities worldwide. 

In addition to its collection of resorts and urban hotels, there is also the ME by Meliá Hotels product, designed to meet the requirements of professional, contemporary guests who are looking for accommodation that best matches their tastes and lifestyle.

What lies ahead

Cresta was enthusiastic about the developments expected for Meliá Hotels, which includes openings for ME by Meliá properties in Miami, Dubai, and Milan, as well as an Innside brand hotel in Manhattan in 2016.

“We’re well positioned in Mexico and the Caribbean," he said, going on to explain that Meliá's transition from ownership into management enables it to expand all over the world.  "However, having hotel presence in the U.S. signifies a very big step for the company. It means we're growing very fast.”

Not to be forgotten is the Meliá Nassau Beach; the all-inclusive resort Baha Mar Bahamas; the Paradisus Playa del Carmen and the Punta Cana Palma Real, all made available through the Paradisus Family Concierge service.

On partnerships

With the anticipation of great things on the horizon, Cresta took the time to emphasize the importance of travel advisors to the success of the brand, emphasizing the importance of the agent training programs such as Meliá Pro, which provides professionals with the knowledge to better sell the brand, in addition to hotel benefits and the opportunity to earn points toward travel.

"Travel experts are the people who bring us our business," he said. "It may be easier now to connect to consumers through social media, but we still need agents because they have the contacts - they have the relationships. For Melia, 75 per cent of our bookings worldwide comes from our travel agents."

For more information on incentives and resources available for Meliá partners, visit here.

PHOTO: From left to right: Rodolfo Cresta, director of leisure sales for North America; Sandra G. Salazar, head of sales for the US and Canada; Daniel Ceballos, director of sales and marketing for Paradisus Cancun; Patricia Alvarez-Lebron, associate director of sales and marketing for Melia Caribe Tropical; Ernesto Luna, managing director, ME Cancun; Belen Sanmartin, director of Paradisus Palma Real & Nathalie Carpentier, director of sales for Eastern Canada.