Spanish hospitality has emerged from the pandemic stronger but more polarised. For the investor with a long-term view and real operational capability, the opportunities are exceptional.
The pandemic struck Spanish hospitality with unprecedented violence. Three years later, the sector has recovered pre-pandemic turnover levels and, in many segments, surpassed them. Spain received 85.1 million international tourists in 2022, exceeding 2019 for the first time. But the recovery has not been homogeneous — and therein lie the opportunities.
The pandemic accelerated professionalisation (the crisis acted as a Darwinian filter), concentrated demand (consumers are more selective, spending more but in fewer places), drove digitalisation (online reservations, integrated management systems, and digital marketing became essential), and created labour scarcity (the pandemic exodus has not fully reversed).
Holiday hotels. Structural demand, stable cash flows, and abundant acquisition opportunities — especially family-owned coastal properties needing investment in renovation and professional management.
Organised catering. Restaurant chains are growing at double-digit rates in Spain. There is space for both franchise and owner-operator models.
Urban hospitality. City hotels have recovered strongly, driven by urban tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, events).
Operators in difficulty. Many establishments survived the pandemic in poor condition — accumulated debt, deferred investment, lost key staff. These are candidates for special situations deals.
Hospitality is not for passive investors. It requires operational involvement, sector knowledge, and tolerance for complexity: operational risk, regulatory risk, concentration risk, and continuous capital expenditure requirements.
Hospitality rewards patience. A hotel acquired at 8x EBITDA that, after renovation and management improvement, moves from a RevPAR of 45 euros to 70 can be worth 12x the new EBITDA. But that transformation takes three to five years. These are the deals we seek at Blue Mountain — where patience is a competitive advantage.
Dirk Manuel Martens Jimenez Founder, Blue Mountain Capital
By Blue Mountain Capital
By Blue Mountain Capital
By Blue Mountain Capital
If you wish to explore a potential collaboration or present an investment opportunity, we invite you to contact us. We guarantee absolute confidentiality in all our conversations.