This will be precisely the common thread of the next session of Moments Estel·lars, a cycle organized by The New Barcelona Post, which will bring together two key figures in the evolution of the hotel sector and real estate investment in Barcelona: investors Javier Faus and Maria Reig. A conversation that, under the title Arts and Mandarin: the story of two hotels that have changed Barcelona's tourism, will highlight the often discreet but decisive role of hotel investment in shaping the city's major projects and international positioning.
Hotels such as Hotel Arts Barcelona, Mandarin Oriental and also the W, Nobu, The Edition or Kimpton and Intercontinental by IHG, along with prestigious local brands such as Majestic, The Serras, Cotton House, Claris, Mercer or Wittmore, among many others, allow Barcelona not only to have a diversified tourism model between leisure, culture and business, but also to be better connected to the world and to attract investment in key sectors of the knowledge economy.
In a conversation led by the director of The New Barcelona Post, Elena Busquets, Faus and Reig will address how, within the framework of Barcelona's consolidation as a global tourist destination, large hotels —such as Hotel Arts or Mandarin Oriental— and major chains have played a relevant role in the evolution of the city's tourism model, contributing first to the consolidation of an international leisure and business profile and, subsequently, to the promotion of segments with greater added value and international projection.
Organized with the collaboration of CASA CUPRA Raval, Must Media Group and Barcelona Global, the session will be held next Monday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. at CASA CUPRA Raval. To attend as an audience and be able to ask questions to the speakers, it is necessary to book a ticket in advance (free).
La conversación se centrará en un momento clave para la proyección internacional de Barcelona, coincidiendo con el cambio de siglo, cuando la ciudad vivió una transformación decisiva de su modelo económico y turístico. En esta transformación, el Hotel Arts se consolidó como una de las primeras grandes infraestructuras hoteleras internacionales de la ciudad, contribuyendo a situar Barcelona en el circuito global del turismo urbano de alta gama. Años más tarde, la llegada de nuevas marcas hoteleras internacionales, con el Mandarin Oriental como uno de los ejemplos más relevantes, reforzó esta tendencia y consolidó un ecosistema hotelero orientado al visitante internacional de mayor capacidad adquisitiva. Un proceso que no se entiende sin la participación de actores empresariales e inversores que han operado a menudo con discreción, pero con un impacto estructural en el desarrollo del sector hotelero en la ciudad.
What did the incorporation of the Mandarin Oriental on Passeig de Gràcia and the Hotel Arts Barcelona in Vila Olímpica mean for Barcelona? How is Barcelona evolving in the current tourism context? What is the weight today of leisure tourism and business and congress tourism in this balance of flows and visitor profiles? And what role do hotel infrastructures play in shaping this international positioning and in the ability to attract new demand segments? These and other questions will be the focus of the next session of the Moments Estel·lars cycle.
A conversation between Javier Faus and Maria Reig
A Law graduate from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and MBA from ESADE, Javier Faus is an entrepreneur and investment manager. Faus has developed his career in the field of private equity and real estate investment, with a notable connection to the hotel sector and with strategic projects for the city of Barcelona, as president of the Cercle d'Economia (2019 to 2022), or vice-president of entities such as FC Barcelona (2010-2015) or the Reial Club Tennis de Barcelona (2008 to 2018).
Additionally, Faus is founder and president of Meridia Capital, one of the main alternative investment managers based in Barcelona, with more than 1,000 million euros under management in real estate, private equity and venture capital strategies. The firm has participated in various operations linked to the real estate and hotel sector, consolidating a trajectory focused on investment in strategic assets and in the transformation of urban and tourist spaces. Likewise, before this stage, Faus was CEO and minority shareholder of HOVISA, a real estate company owner of Hotel Arts, managed by Ritz-Carlton, participating in the consolidation of one of the most emblematic hotel projects in Barcelona.
For her part, Maria Reig is an entrepreneur and investor, president of Reig Capital Group, a family holding with interests in various sectors, including real estate and hotels. Founder of Barcelona Global, and with a trajectory linked to the management of assets and investment projects on an international scale, she has promoted operations aimed at the development of benchmark hotel assets.
Reig has been especially linked to the development and consolidation of the Mandarin Oriental Barcelona, inaugurated in 2010 on Passeig de Gràcia, one of the most relevant luxury hotel projects in the city. Under her involvement, the establishment has consolidated itself as one of Barcelona's iconic hotels, contributing decisively to strengthening the presence of top-level international brands and positioning the city in the global circuit of quality urban tourism.
At a time when Barcelona is rethinking its positioning as an international destination, the Moments Estel·lars debate will offer a key reading on the role played by large hotel operators not only as a response to demand, but also as active agents in shaping the market and the image of the city.
Add The New Barcelona Post as your preferred Google source for free
Stay informed with the latest news.
