Pestana Group

: exploring the Spanish market

Abstract

Pestana, the largest Portuguese hotel chain, celebrated in 2012 its fortieth anniversary. Its portfolio included forty-seven hotels under Pestana Hotels & Resorts brand in thirteen countries across Europe, Africa and America, besides the units it managed under Pousadas de Portugal. The company’s future plans for expansion focused especially on emerging destinations of South America and the traditional European markets. Pestana was present in several cities in South American countries and it had already few ongoing projects in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The main question regarded Europe. Pestana was particularly interested in the Spanish market. The case study provides therefore an overview of the company as well as the tourism and hotel industry, with especial focus in Spain. The aim of this master dissertation is to conduct a strategic analysis of the Spanish market, identifying its trends, opportunities and threats, among others. Spain is one of the top destinations in the world but the financial downturn, the difficulties in obtaining credit and the fierce competition in the hotel industry, especially from the largest international chains, were some of the setbacks for entering into such country. On the other hand, some opportunities arose as the price some hotel establishments decreased, becoming potential acquisition targets for larger companies. In addition, other entry modes, like management contracts or franchising agreements that required lower capital investments, were gaining popularity in the Spanish hotel industry.

Date of Award	22 Feb 2013
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Cardeal (Supervisor)