Vincci Hotels celebrates its 15th anniversary: A decade and a half of passion for tourism

On 8 March 2001 Rufino Calero, with a long career in the hotel sector, where he started in 1953, began a new project, with a clearly differentiated strategy: the creation of a hotel chain made up exclusively of 4 and 5 star establishments, all in excellent locations and each with a different character. For his new adventure he brought with him his four children, all hoteliers, some of whom had been on the board of his previous hotel chain. From then to today, 8 March, 15 years have passed, during which time we’ve opened new hotels throughout Spain, Portugal and Tunisia, always staying true to our fundamental principles.

This year the chain celebrates its 15th anniversary “with the same spirit we had when we opened our first hotel, facing new challenges and starting projects based on a new way of running hotels”, says Carlos Calero, managing director of the chain. “We were very clear about the business we wanted to create: exclusive 4 and 5 star hotels in city centres, with a special emphasis on the design and the maintenance of the hotel, and above all aiming to offer the very finest service.”

In these 15 years our chain has positioned itself consummately and experienced dizzying growth, both in Spain and abroad. Vincci Hoteles celebrates its 15th anniversary with 36 hotels in its portfolio: 29 in Spain, 3 in Portugal and 4 in Tunisia, with revenue in 2015 of 127 million euros. 

“We’re very satisfied with the results for 2015, for the chain as a whole we’re talking about an increase in RevPAR of more than 15%. For its part EBITDA is up 300% over the previous year, with an increase in revenue of 12.11% due mainly to the new openings in Valencia and Porto last year and the recovery in price levels seen in the last year”, said Carlos Calero. According to the executive: “in 2016 our forecast is to continue to grow; we’ll soon have 40 properties, but we won’t deviate whatsoever from the essence of our business strategy”.

At Vincci Hotels we’re celebrating our 15th anniversary with the recent opening of new hotels in Lisbon (Vincci Liberdade 4*) and Zaragoza (Vincci Zaragoza Zentro 4*); and the reopening of what was our first hotel in Madrid, the Vincci Centrum 4*, after a complete renovation, with new facilities being installed, new decor added and the creation of a new gastronomic space. We’re also looking forward to the opening of a new concept in hotels, Vincci The Mint 4*, in Madrid, expected at the end of March, and another new property in Barcelona, in the summer. These new projects are full of new thinking, promising innovative concepts.

“The way of understanding travel is changing, and our guests are too, which is why we are evolving with them in mind. The hotel has become a vital part of the stay in every destination, one that magnifies the experience of each of the guests to our properties. That’s why we’re focused on bringing new projects to fruition; we no longer understand the hotel business as simply offering conventional hotels. An example of the new way of doing things is the latest hotel we opened a few weeks ago in Madrid, at Gran Vía 10, which has a concept that takes visitors pleasantly by surprise”, says Calero.

Vincci Hoteles’ managing director says that the “main challenge is maintaining our constant growth and our idea of how to run a hotel, without losing our badge of identity: quality of service, location and originality in our hotels, instilling the spirit of Vincci Hoteles in the employees at each new hotel, involving them in the project and ensuring they share its goals, so that our guests have an authentic Vincci experience”.

Because there’s no doubt another of the fundamental pillars of the success Vincci Hoteles has experienced is the human element. The chain firmly believes in internal promotion, which is why it’s not hard to find hotel managers who in their day started as receptionists or kitchen assistants who ended up as head chef at one of the chain’s most iconic restaurants. 

Always loyal to its core essence, the philosophy of Vincci Hoteles evolves along with its guests, “capable of surprising them with an innovative product tailored precisely for eachproject and destination”. 

All this is integrated into a series of commitments to the chain’s social and environmental surroundings, with a Corporate Social Responsibility Plan and a Quality and Environmental Policy. All of which led to the Spanish Government awarding the chain the Medal for Merit in Tourism in the category of Sustainability and Quality, presented to Rufino Calero, the president of Vincci Hoteles.

Worthy recognition, without a doubt, of an entire career dedicated to the sector, and a project, Vincci Hoteles, that celebrates its 15th anniversary looking forward to many more anniversaries to come.