OD Hotels in HOTELS Magazine

MARC RAHOLA'S OD HOTELS AIMS FOR INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION.

Launching a hotel enterprise at any time is risky. Launching one in a global recession is an even greater gamble. For Marc Rahola, founder and CEO of Ibiza, Spain-based OD Group, it was one key to success. "Crisis is always a change moment," says Rahola, who started the lifestyle hotel company in 2009, and the disruption offers an "opportunity to make something happen in another way."

That's what Rahola and his team are striving to do with their hotels, which include three in Ibiza, one in Barcelona and one in Mallorca. In 2019, OD Côte d'Azur on the French Riviera will open. Plans are underway for 2020 openings in Madrid and Miami. One of the pillars underpinning OD Hotels' approach to hospitality is excellent location, often near top restaurants, shops and museums. "The city is the experience," says Rahola, who believes that the hospitality industry is suffering from an "Airbnb effect." High costs have prompted travelers to look for alternatives to traditional hotels and book shorter stays. When they do travel, "they want to be in the center of the experience," which is where the company puts its hotels - OD Barcelona in the L'Eixample District is a short walk to Passeig de Gràcia and its Catalan Modernist architecture, as well as upscale shopping. Rahola and his team strive to bring some of the aesthetic of each location within the hotels - what he calls "having the flavor of the city."

OD Ocean Drive in Ibiza, the island that originated electronic music, often hosts high-profile DJs. The renovation of abandoned buildings is another pillar of OD Group's philosophy, opening up a greater number of properties in a range of locations and adding to the story of the hotel. The 15- room Ibiza Can Jaume originally was an island manor house. An abandoned cinema, closed for 20 years, will be renovated for OD's Madrid hotel.