Since its birth in 2005, OD Group has not stopped conquering new territories and concepts. Its founder, Marc Rahola Matutes, boasts of being a liquid (on several occasions he uses the aphorism attributed to Bruce Lee be water my friend) and agile company. In this interview with the CEO of the chain, which encompasses the OD Hotels, Ryans and Concept Hotel Group brands, we reviewthe projects underway and those yet to come. This year he has opened the doors of OD Seville, the city where he plans to open a Ryans. He has taken a liking to Andalusia, as OD Malaga and OD Granada are on the way.
-There isa Ryans planned in Cala de Bou, the sixth in Ibiza. When will the works start?
-Next year. We like to do things with a good head and that they make sense. When people see a project that we propose, it seems that we already have everything defined, but we don’t. We are still refining the concept. We are still refining the concept. It’s better to wait because you get to know the asset and the people who will carry it forward. It improves the vision: sometimes we have pre-established ideas that need to be cleaned up. So next season we will stay the same and hope to start construction in October 2026.
-Tell us aboutOcean Drive in Malaga.
-That project has been finalized and construction will begin shortly. We expect to open in early 2026.
-The expansion in Andalusia is unstoppable, since it has already started an OD Granada through a management contract. Can you tell us some details.
-Work has already started and the opening will be at the end of next year. They are apartments, very centrally located, a block in the Reyes Católicos street, in the heart of Granada. In total, 38 apartments, in which we are going to develop a type of product that we know well because we are not only in the hotel business, we have also done real estate development. In addition, many of the Ryans have apartments and we know what this service means.
It’s a natural way to grow, I don’t like to focus on just one type of product and think that all Ocean Drive has to be like Talamanca’s. What they have in common is that they are all part of a liquid brand: liquid is the service and adapts to different containers. What they have in common is that they are all part of a liquid brand: the liquid is the service and it adapts to different containers. I want a brand that is constantly on the move, in internal doubt to improve processes, I do not want a brand made with all the assets that are photocopies of each other.
-However, this brand is not enough for the Hotel España in Barcelona, as it has announced an ad hoc brand for this emblematic establishment.
-That is not the case. The Hotel España will be the Hotel España-Ocean Drive. With more than 100 years of history, you can’t just come in and erase all that in a second. The work will hopefully start early next year. We are now in the bidding process. Bidding used to be very easy, now it’s like quantum physics. Added to this is the situation that has arisen, with the instability of prices, technical improvements, the desire to build with newer, more sustainable materials, which at the same time are used in old buildings with their own difficulty.
-Whathappened to your other hotel in Barcelona, the OD Barcelona?
-We sold the property, which was owned by a group of investors that we represented through OD Group, and we continue to manage it for the time being.
–How is the project of the new Ryans in London, the first international hotel project, progressing ?
–It will bein Shoreditch (the neighborhood where Blue Marlin London is located). It will have 109 rooms. We are starting in the next few months, we are finishing the small details of the tender. It is an important project that will take a very long time. It will allow us to build the typical English courtyard and three underground floors. In a city like London, which is highly regulated, we estimate that the work will take a minimum of 24 months.
–Is there a date for Ryans in Seville?
–We areworking on it. It has 95 rooms. We are already doing the demolition and in full development of the project. I think it will see the light in the middle of 2026.
-In addition, Concept Hotel Group has the project of the future Acapulco in Cala de Bou…
-That‘s right. We are always in the market looking at options, open to collaborations, listening to owner proposals…. Acapulco we will develop during the winter of 2025 and will see its doors open at the beginning of the 2026 season.
-What will be Concept’s next news?
-Acapulco is the next Concept news. We are in the process of consolidating the structure of the company, basic to be able to access projects such as Mongibello, owned by a fund (Stoneweg Hospitalty and Bain Capital Credit paid 30 million euros for the ownership of the Hotel Don Carlos), Los Felices, through the OD Group fund, and Acapulco, owned by a third party (the former president of the Consell de Ibiza, Pere Palau).
It should not be forgotten that this is a company that until recently had a size of about 200 rooms. With the recent projects we have doubled the size and with the Acapulco we will almost triple it. We are at the moment of continuing to professionalize all the lines of the company in order to continue competing and to be able to grow with new projects. We are at that moment and we are very comfortable.
-Have you considered making a spin-off of the 666 Burger?
-666 is already like a spin-off of Ryans because it has its own storytelling.
-Does it have a path as a chain independent of the Ryans?
-We have no interest in this at the moment. The one in London will have 666, but in the new Ryans in Cala de Bou, no, and there will be a new proposal. McDonald’s only has two locations in Ibiza.