Joan Gaspart Solves (born in 1944), the current president of Husa, is the third generation of Gasparts to head the group after José Gaspart Bulbena and Juan Gaspart Bonet.The chain’s history began in 1930 but it was in the 1950s that it gained momentum.
In 1952, the group Husa opened its first Grand Hotel, the Avenida Palace in Barcelona, in association with the Gimferrer family. According to Joan Gaspart Solves it is “still the best city hotel today”. On August 17, 1961, José Gaspart Bulbena died at the age of 76. Today, the Husa group continues under the leadership of his son who decided to open his group on Madrid’s market. He bought out the Serrano Hotel in the heart of the Salamanca neighbourhood, the city’s most commercial area. Later, the group bought and managed up to five other hotels in the capital. Aside from the hotel industry, Husa also participates in other businesses such as restaurants and places for entertainment, but exclusively in Barcelona. In the mid 70s, its development reached a new dimension, Husa began to spread throughout Spain and in a brief period added 15 new hotels to its supply as well as a dozen discotheques. 1978 marked the opening of Princesa Sofía in Barcelona, the first five star in the group, which now has 4 Leading Hotels of the World properties. In the 80s, Husa bought the Ritz in the same city. For Joan Gaspart Solves, who was the first Spaniard to be elected president of the prestigious International Hotel association (IHA), it was his life’s dream come true. In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympics. In the all-new Hotel Juan Carlos 1, Husa receives presidents, heads of state and royalty. But the return to normal can be painful. But after the euphoria of the Olympics, Barcelona suffers from the worldwide economic slump. Prices and profits plunge. Husa is thus slowing investments to stabilise its turnover. Today, as the Husa group celebrates 75 years it boasts over 160 hotels in Spain, France, Belgium, Andorra, Argentina and Egypt.
