Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts enters into hotel management in partnership with Banco de Fomento Internacional with its first hotel in Cape Verde

• This is the first “Asset Light” project for Grupo Piñero's Hotels division

• The 605-room hotel will be located in Murdeira, on the island of Sal, and will be a five-star, family-friendly, themed product

• With an investment of €120 million, 500 direct jobs will be created

Palma de Mallorca, June 13, 2024. Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts, the brand of Grupo Piñero's Hotels division, enters for the first time in hotel management with a new hotel in Cape Verde hand in hand with BFI Bank, a Cape Verdean investment project bank with extensive international experience, especially in the African market, and one of the main players in the transformation of Cape Verde into a financial platform in the Mid-Atlantic. The hotel, with 605 rooms, will be located in Murdeira, on the island of Sal, and will be a five-star, family-friendly, themed product

For the first time, the company has opted for a hotel management (also called Asset Light) project that allows it to focus on hotel management and operation without direct ownership of the property assets. In this way, Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts prioritizes customer experience and service quality. 

Specifically, the Cape Verde project will involve an investment of approximately €120 million for a five-star, family-friendly, themed hotel with 605 rooms. This destination was carefully selected for its exceptional attributes that perfectly complement the Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts brand, thanks to its good connectivity and stability, as well as a year-round warm climate that allows you to enjoy the sun and beach. In addition, Grupo Piñero's tour operator, Soltour, has a close relationship with Cape Verde, where it has been operating for more than five years from Portugal and, for the past two years, from Spain.

In that regard, the good forecasts for this destination, which has more than 90% of tour operator weight, have led Soltour to expand the route beyond the summer season, demonstrating its great potential. Soltour has worked hand in hand with the Instituto do Turismo de Cabo Verde (ITCV, the Cape Verde Tourism Institute), having signed an important collaboration agreement to promote this destination in the Spanish and Portuguese markets in order to showcase its virtues and attract quality, sustainable and long-lasting tourism to the archipelago.

Julio Perez, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts, said: "We are excited to bring our brand to the island of Sal in Cape Verde, a destination that aligns perfectly with our values and quality standards. This project is a strategic step in our global expansion."

For his part, Luis Rodrigues, CEO of Banco de Fomento Internacional (BFI Bank), emphasized that “Cape Verde is increasingly asserting itself as an international standard bearer in terms of tourist destinations, with tourism being the main driver of the Cape Verdean economy - the number of tourists is expected to double between now and 2030 and, in the same period, investments are expected to exceed one billion euros. As a bank that promotes Cape Verde's economy, BFI Bank could not fail to participate in this evolution. The alliance signed with Grupo Piñero will provide internationally recognized management and a differentiated offer that will take the project to unique levels in Cape Verde.”

The project, which is expected to open in 2027, will have a positive impact on the local Cape Verdean community through the creation of 500 direct jobs and development opportunities.

Transformation of the Hotel Business

Grupo Piñero is immersed in the transformation of its hotel business through the search for new formulas such as the Asset Light model, which will allow it to expand into new markets like Cape Verde, taking advantage of local alliances and resources while maximizing its focus on hotel management and customer experience. This approach reflects an agile, global growth-oriented business strategy.

The company seeks to contribute to the promotion of Cape Verde through this project and to promote quality, sustainable and lasting tourism in the archipelago. Along these lines, through Soltour, a close relationship has been established with the Instituto do Turismo de Cabo Verde (ITCV) with the signing of an important collaboration agreement that aims to showcase the unique beauty of Cape Verde and expand its promotion to the Spanish and Portuguese markets.

In short, this project marks a milestone in the history of Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts, not only because it is its first hotel management project, but also because it will allow it to enter Africa for the first time, adding to the 24 hotels that the brand currently has in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Jamaica.