Open the Leonardo Royal Barcelona Fira, the first hotel approved after the moratorium

One of Ada Colau's first decisions when she came to power in 2015 was to approve a hotel moratorium to curb the expansion of tourism, paralyzing those projects that had not obtained the license or prior certificate. Later, the Peuat (Special Urban Plan for Tourist Accommodations) came, which set as a requirement for the construction of new hotels that they be built in peripheral neighborhoods, moving the pressure away from the city center. A few days ago, the first establishment approved under this decentralizing regulation has just been inaugurated.

The new addition to Barcelona's hotel plant, which already has 60% of its establishments open, is the Leonardo Royal Hotel Barcelona Fira. Leonardo Hotels, the European division of the Israeli hotel chain Fattal Hotels, has invested a total of 45 million euros in the new establishment. For the general director of Leonardo Hotels in Spain, Shay Raz, the new hotel regulation in the city has not delayed the definition and construction of the establishment more than expected and has equated the time it has taken to do so with the time they dedicate in other European countries where the company has a presence.

One factor that has indeed hindered its inauguration has been, obviously, the pandemic. Leonardo Hotels acquired the plot where the hotel has been built in 2017 and construction began in the summer of 2019. When the covid crisis arrived, only three of the 11 floors that make up the establishment had been built and the new situation especially hindered access to materials. With an offer of more than 200 rooms, Leonardo Royal Hotel Barcelona Fira has 10,000 square meters built. It also has an outdoor garden and a swimming pool with city views.

Near the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona and the administrative district of the Generalitat next to the Zona Franca promenade, in the Marina del Port neighborhood, the Leonardo Hotels establishment is focused on business tourism, offering meeting rooms and co-working spaces. Precisely, its inauguration coincides with the progressive recovery that began this September of trade fairs and business meetings, a trend that is expected to accelerate between now and the end of the year, with an eye on the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in February 2022.

"We are connected with Fira de Barcelona," defends Raz, who has already detected how in the last two weeks reservations for this type of visitor were growing. According to data from the Barcelona Tourism Observatory, the city will host about thirty congresses during this last quarter of 2021. The IAPAA leisure fair, Automobile Barcelona, the Smart City Expo World Congress, Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress and Puzzle X are some of the dates marked in the coming months on the Fira de Barcelona calendar.

The office towers of the complex promoted by Iberdrola that surround Leonardo Royal Hotel Barcelona Fira are also considered a potential client for the establishment, boosting the gastronomic offer in the area with the Tramuntana restaurant, which will offer menus from Monday to Friday, according to the hotel director, Iván Lara. Another public that Leonardo Hotels wants to target is families, with the aim of filling rooms when there are no congresses. That is why 45 rooms have been incorporated that can connect with their neighbor and 15 with an additional bed.

Leonardo Hotels reinforces its presence in Barcelona

With Leonardo Royal Hotel Barcelona Fira, the chain reaches four establishments in the city. The others are the Leonardo Hotel Barcelona Rambla, the Leonardo Hotel Barcelona Gran Via and the Leonardo Boutique Hotel Barcelona Sagrada Família. All of them have been open during the half-gas summer experienced in a city that depends completely on international tourists.

For Raz, the season has not been bad, registering good occupancy in the different establishments and surpassing last year's, but it is still far from recovering pre-pandemic figures, even more so if one takes into account that they have halved the price of rooms to attract visitors. Leonardo Hotels has been able to cover costs this summer in the city, but has not registered profits. "There is a lack of movement, but it is better to have this demand and generate confidence among clients. We do more with an open hotel than with a closed one," explains Raz. For September, they expect to reach 80% occupancy and gradually recover prices.

For Raz, the season has not been bad, registering good occupancy in the different establishments and surpassing last year's, but it is still far from recovering pre-pandemic figures