From Barcelona to the most luxurious hotel in Buenos Aires
Catalan Antonio Àlvarez runs the Park Hyatt Hotel in Buenos Aires, the most important and luxurious hotel in the Argentinian capital. He is an example of a new emigration phenomenon.
Buenos Aires (ACN).- At nearly two metres tall, Antonio Àlvarez does not go unnoticed wherever he goes. Least of all when he is in the luxurious Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires, the hotel that he manages with almost 200 rooms and over 300 employees. In very fluent English he personally greets the customers he meets every morning while he goes around the various facilities of the hotel. Àlvarez took over the Park Hyatt Hotel two years ago and at the moment he does not plan to return to Catalonia because of the economic crisis. For Àlvarez, the future lies in the growing market that is Asia.
"We must look after all the details", confesses Àlvarez while giving instructions to some of his closest aides. Àlvarez has under his command more than 300 workers of many different nationalities. "Being the executive director of one of the most emblematic hotels in Buenos Aires, where tourists and guests with a high purchasing power seek luxury and excellence, requires having a special character and personality", he says.
Professionals like Àlvarez have no choice but to go abroad now to grow professionally. Some people had already emigrated from Catalonia when the economic crisis began and this is deferring their return home. According to the director of the Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires, the great majority of colleagues within his profession who are working outside of Catalonia and Spain think the same and none consider a short-term return.
With some nostalgia, Àlvarez remembers his time at the La Florida Hotel in Barcelona. At that time, Barça players often stayed overnight on the Tibidabo mountain, prior to key matches. He remembers this as a special moment, as Barcelona was going through excellent economic times.
The future lies in Asia
Àlvarez says he would love to work in Asia. "It is where everything is happening". With the economic crisis in Catalonia, he cannot see himself returning to Barcelona yet. "Later, perhaps in 5 or 10 years, we will see, but not now. The bursting of the real estate bubble has affected the hotel industry and it is not the time to return to Catalonia".