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RESORTDEVELOPER.COM vacation industry review
JANUARY – MARCH 2015
40
ONAGRUP HOTELS &
RESORTS
By Catherine Lackner
Ready to Grow
Expansion Mode in Spain — and Beyond
Barrau has built an impressive portfolio of resorts since entering the
industry at the age of 29. Most of the properties are located in vibrant
tourism centers and boast features — including tranquil beaches or
pristine pools — that leverage Spain’s unquestioned fame as the prime
destination for sun-craving Europeans.
Onagrup is in an expansion mode, and is considering adding
resorts in high-demand destinations such as Portugal, Tenerife in the
Canary Islands, and Mallorca in the Balearic Islands. The success of its
existing properties has made capital available to purchase distressed
resorts and to take over their member bases.
A Long Journey
In this age of specialization, Onagrup now outsources its sales efforts
to marketing companies that create their own campaigns and lead-
generation strategies targeted to specific markets, including potential
buyers in the U.K., France, Spain, and Russia. In a new wrinkle, one of
the firms, based in Costa del Sol, concentrates only on the Spanish
market. But Barrau hasn’t completely given over the reins, as his
shrewd analysis of present and future markets shows.
He sees Norway as an emerging market, as Spain is enjoying a hey-
day among Norwegians. Scandinavia overall offers great promise,
Barrau says. “In order to obtain a larger occupancy during low- and mid-
season, we are focusing on the Scandinavian market, as these clients
look for longer stays, including golf packages. We have very competitive
agreements with the best golf courses in each
area, which allows us to offer an attractive product
to this target audience.”
And, while some might be skeptical of doing
business in Eastern Bloc countries, “The Russian
market is and will be one of the leading markets,”
Barrau maintains. “We believe that, although the
present situation has changed, it has not changed
more than it has in other nationalities. We are look-
ing for new ways to approach this market.”
Onagrup’s beginnings in the 1990s can best be
described as audacious and perhaps a bit risky. After attending just one
sales presentation, Barrau and a colleague, Jordi Monzó, rented a tiny
office and gained the exclusive rights to sell timeshare weeks. “We had
three months to sell these,” he recalls. “We were very excited, but we
had a very low budget. So we published vouchers in the newspapers
saying, ‘If you want to know more about timeshare and enjoy the option
to stay at more than 2,000 resorts in the world, please reply to us.’”
Barrau continues: “Our strategy was to visit the potential clients at
their home or work address. We started dedicating ourselves exclusively
to this new business, and it was a joint project we shared for many
years.” Soon came the affiliation with Interval, which would prove bene-
ficial to both parties and deliver on the promise of an exchange network.
Designed for Families
The vision that drove that success, Barrau says, is a laser focus on family
vacations. By design, unit floor plans typically feature multiple places in
which the family can be together, while pursuing separate activities. There
is generally a dining room or some designated eating space, and units are
spacious. “We want to offer privacy for all the guests,” Barrau says.
Onagrup’s designers take care to select high-end furniture and
finishes, Barrau explains, because the company recognizes how
important holiday time is to families. On-site amenities abound, includ-
ing restaurants, gyms, spas, and entertainment. And in the majority of
resorts, other attractions appealing to a variety of interests are within
Alanda Club Marbella
No one knows the value of staying nimble more than Carlos
Barrau, developer of one of Spain’s
most prominent hospitality companies. Just as he steered a
course away from a safe engineering career toward the high-risk,
high-reward proposition of timesharing, he’s now ready to tack
again, this time introducing a new product to Europe — and taking
the company deeper into resort management.