Rafael Nadal and Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of Meliá Hotels International, presented the hotel brand ZEL today in Madrid. ZEL is a new brand of resort and urban leisure hotels that will first begin to operate in Spain, and then later in key destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and America.
The joint venture between these two global brands from Mallorca aims to achieve consistent international growth and capitalise on its hallmark Mediterranean character.
The brand will also have a range of different strategic partners in its international growth in areas such as dining, decoration, wellbeing and technology
For Gabriel Escarrer, “The result of combining the inspirational leadership of Rafa Nadal and the international experience of more than 65 years of Meliá in creating luxury hotels and in hotel management, is the unique brand we present today, which travellers are going to love and which will surprise the new generations.
An innovative hotel brand, full of energy, with a new interpretation of well-being and a sustainable business model. We are happy to finally be able to announce our partnership in this project with an icon on both a personal and sporting level such as Rafa.”
For Rafael Nadal, “As a Spaniard, a Mallorcan and a global traveller, the launch of our hotel brand is a project that I have had in mind for a long while. ZEL is synonymous with feeling good at all times, enjoying life and the way we live it throughout the Mediterranean.
I was really attracted from the start to this new concept we have been working on with Meliá. I’m confident that ZEL will be a great success and will achieve considerable growth and be enjoyed by all of those travellers who stay in the hotels, which in the end is the reason we are creating it.”
The growth plan foresees the addition of more than 20 hotels in 5 years, focusing on destinations that attract premium-quality leisure travellers, and on “bleisure” hotels in the key regions in which Meliá Hotels International operates in Europe, America, the Middle East and Asia.
In a first stage, the brand aims to grow in destinations on the Mediterranean coast and in capital cities such as Madrid, Paris and London, the first ZEL hotel opened in Mallorca last year.