NH Hotel Group is a Spanish hotel operator based in Madrid with a global footprint and a particularly strong presence in Europe and Latin America. It operates luxury, upscale and midscale hotels through its portfolio of four brands.
Key figures
Opened in 1978, the Ciudad de Pamplona Hotel marks the birth of the Spanish hotel NH Hotels, whose name (Navarra Hotels) refers to the region of Spain. The group developed on the national market as early as the 1980s with the opening of several hotels in Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza and quickly established itself as the leading hotel operator in the country.
Wishing to demonstrate his commitment to culture, the group created the Mario Vargas Llosa NH Short Story Award in 1995 to encourage writers and promote reading and in 1998 the NH Stock Art, a program of travelling exhibitions near the Group's hotels to support the work of artists.
The group began its expansion in Latin America and Europe that same year, following the acquisition of a stake in the Italian Jolly Hotels. In 1999, NH created the Equity International Properties fund to invest in Latin America and also acquired 91.5% of Sotogrande, a company dedicated to the development of upscale extended stay hotels. In 2000, NH Hotels acquired the Dutch hotel chain Krasnapolsky, an operation that doubled its size and strengthened its European footprint. In the following years, it pursued its strategy of international expansion through the acquisition of the Mexican chain Chartwell in 2001, followed by the German brand Astron Hotels in 2002, before making its debut on the Romanian, French and British markets in 2004 and 2005. The following year, it became the leader in the Italian market with its acquisition of the local brands Framon and Jolly in 2006, and opened its first hotel under the nhow banner in Milan.
Affected by the crisis, NH Hotel launched a financial restructuring plan in 2013. Supported by the acquisition of a 30% stake by the Chinese giant HNA in 2014, it began a renovation and modernization project for its properties and unveiled its new four-brand portfolio: NH Collection, NH Hotels, nhow and Hesperia Resorts. At the beginning of 2015, it finalized the acquisition of the Colombian chain Hoteles Royal, which enabled it to strengthen its presence in Latin America, notably in Colombia, Chile and Ecuador.
As of 2017, NH Hotel Group operates nearly 400 hotels in some 30 countries and is the 22nd largest hotel group in the world and 9th largest operator in Europe.