Wealth and traditional capital that thrived in Venezuela during the years of the so-called Fourth Republic, a democratic period prior to the rise of Chavismo in the late 1990s, as well as others that strengthened due to their favoritism and strong ties with the Hugo Chávez government and later with Nicolás Maduro, have decided to migrate to Spain, gradually taking over the real estate market in Madrid across various segments. It’s not just about luxury constructions, the purchase of buildings for later renovation, or the establishment of luxury university residences, but also encompasses the rental market and numerous other businesses in the Spanish capital.
These Venezuelan fortunes and capital investments represent profits cultivated in the shadows of the Chávez and Maduro administrations, considered dictatorships and totalitarian regimes by various European governments in the past. However, some of those very governments, due to shifting geopolitical and economic circumstances, have altered their rhetoric towards those currently controlling the main state entities in Venezuela. In Spain, for example, authorities have allowed Venezuelan investments to flow without any hitches.
Leading the group of Venezuelans investing in real estate in Spain is Miguel Ángel Capriles López, former owner of the Capriles Chain in Venezuela, a family media conglomerate that sold to pro-Chavista businessmen before the family emigrated to Spain. The Capriles López family is known as one of the biggest collectors of Latin American art, with a collection that includes works from Colombian artist Fernando Botero. Miguel Capriles López is related to Armando “Coco” or “Pelón” Capriles, another businessman who has also increased his wealth thanks to various businesses supported by the Chavista regime.
Capriles’s relationship with Chavismo in Venezuela includes dealings with Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The state-owned oil company signed an agreement with Miguel Ángel Capriles López for $57 million.
A document reveals that on November 29, 2011, the Executive Committee of PDVSA approved an agreement with “Terminales Maracaibo,” a company owned by Miguel Ángel Capriles López, also known as “Michu Capriles.” This agreement came about during the management of Rafael Ramírez, currently in exile in Italy, a former president of PDVSA and former Minister of Oil in Venezuela, against whom Chavismo has issued arrest warrants for alleged participation in multimillion-dollar corruption schemes against the Venezuelan oil company. The agreement, valued at $57 million, was signed on December 8, 2011.
Another member of the Capriles family who arrived in Spain to carve out a niche in the Madrid real estate market is Axel Daniel Capriles Méndez, who is now a naturalized Spanish citizen. The Capriles Méndez family is part of a branch of the more well-known Capriles family in Venezuela from the Aragua province, notable as owners of the newspaper El Siglo. This same branch includes Manasés Capriles, who was at the center of a scandal in 1991 for murdering his wife, the young Lorena Márquez de Capriles, after Márquez threatened to report him for trafficking cocaine. The Capriles Méndez family had good connections and benefited from the favors of the former governor of Aragua, Carlos Tablante, who now resides in Catalonia, Spain, with his wife Margarita.
Residency in Spain is virtually automatic for foreigners who invest half a million euros in real estate. After five years, they can also apply for citizenship. This has been the case for the Capriles family. Miguel Ángel Capriles, cousin of Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles, manages Gran Roque, a real estate developer in Madrid that has acquired dozens of properties in central Madrid, most of which are classified as historic or protected in the Chamberí and Salamanca neighborhoods, which they have then transformed into “prime” developments.
In recent years, Miguel Ángel Capriles purchased several buildings in prominent areas of Madrid, such as Calle Lagasca, Barquillo, and Fernando VI, as well as the well-known Patio Maravillas, a municipal building that had been “occupied” for years before being acquired through public auction.
Axel, Miguel Ángel’s cousin, began aggressively purchasing properties in Málaga in 2020 with the same business model. Both acquired Spanish nationality in 2020. Axel shared with ‘El País’ that in Venezuela he was involved in construction and marketing under the brand Proyectos y Construcciones Panóptica. However, he stated that the kidnapping and disappearance of one of his trusted employees, Nelson Gutiérrez, prompted him to pack his bags. He proudly notes that he managed to equalize the amenities in Chamberí with those of Salamanca.
But Miguel Ángel and Axel Capriles aren’t the only South Americans partaking in Madrid’s real estate takeover. There are at least three other groups of Venezuelans currently investing in Spain’s luxury apartment market, with wealth that grew exponentially during Chávez’s governance.
One such consortium of Venezuelan capital that landed in Spain since 2013 is Impar Grupo, which recently sold its first major luxury project in Madrid, the Núñez de Balboa 86. They have shifted focus from promoting luxury homes and commercial spaces to managing assets in the Spanish real estate sector.
In 2021, Impar Grupo took a further step to expand its business by establishing a real estate asset management company to autonomously execute their projects, unlike relying on family offices as they previously did.
“We are currently in discussions with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and expect to be established by the end of the year,” said Roberto Perri Aristeguieta, partner and general manager of the company, during an interview. This vehicle would primarily enhance their student housing and logistics businesses.
During the pandemic, the company made its first foray into the student housing market. They are developing a student residence in Salamanca that will feature 170 beds and is expected to open between 2022 and 2023 with a ten-million-euro investment.
Impar has plans to expand in the Spanish student housing market and is already scouting cities like Granada, Málaga, Seville, or Valencia. “We estimate to have 600 rooms divided among three residences by 2023,” affirmed Perri. To facilitate this growth, the company hired Jaime Gómez as the head of the area.
In addition to student residences, the company ventured into the logistics business, adding a head of area to its staff. Laureano Marvez took on that responsibility.
In 2020, the company maintained billing consistent with 2019, generating seventy million euros, despite the pandemic interrupting Impar’s plans to grow revenue by 20%. The decline was largely due to various projects having to be delayed.
Impar also launched a Breeam department to certify its projects with the English sustainability seal under the name ImparBreeam in its consulting area.
Previously known as The Corner Group, Impar Grupo has held since 2022 the venture capital manager Impar Capital Assset Management SGEIC, after receiving authorization from the CNMV in Spain. The consortium was formed from a 2019 merger between The Corner Group and Impar Grupo.
The Corner Group specialized in marketing buildings in Madrid, on streets like Núñez de Balboa 86, Francisco de Rojas 2, Castelló 82, Fuencarral 149, and even Gran Vía 61.
Impar Capital Assset Management SGEIC has formally invited its investors to allocate capital for investments in real estate companies aimed at the promotion and rehabilitation of projects.
The new firm promises to provide management and advisory services for investments in moderately risky real estate projects.
Impar Grupo is led by prominent figures such as Carlos Calero, Roberto Perri Aristeguieta, Alfredo Calzadilla, Marco Esteban Zarikian, and Javier del Villar.
The Corner Group (Impar) has followed a strategy similar to Gran Roque: buy low and sell high to VIP clients. The Venezuelan group, led by Roberto Perri Aristeguieta, Marco Esteban Zarikian, and Alfredo Calzadilla, operates in central Madrid, in Gran Vía, Arturo Soria, Chamberí, and Salamanca. “All the projects we develop become a reference point in the area where they’re located,” according to their corporate website.
In the commercial real estate sector, Impar has been responsible for consulting and architectural reform projects such as those for Alejandro Rodríguez Residencia de Estudiantes, Hernán Cortés, Salamanca Residencia de Estudiantes, Hotel S’alamera Ibiza, Hotel Od Madrid, West Madrid Business Center – Alcorcón, Hotel Six Sense Ibiza, Hotel Radisson Madrid, and Adolfo Suárez Madrid Airport T1, T2, T3, T4, and T4S (AENA), among others. In the residential sector, their project portfolio includes Fundadores 27, Galileo 9, Velázquez XXI, Luchana 20, San Andrés 33, López de Hoyos 171, Galileo 91, Ibiza, Ca n’Espanyol, and many more.
The Corner Group emerged in 2015 as a promoter and real estate investment consultant focused on finding unique buildings in Madrid. Some of their projects included: Toledo, 123; Barquillo, 49; Gran Vía, 61; Castelló, 82; Francisco de Rojas, 2; the former headquarters of Casa Decor, and Núñez de Balboa, 86, the venue for Casa Decor 2019.
Impar Grupo was founded in 2013 and specializes in architecture, management, and construction, boasting dozens of projects in its portfolio.
The general director of The Corner Group, Roberto Perri, and the director of Impar Grupo, Carlos Calero, presented the new company in 2019, whose offices are located at Calle Serrano 45 in Madrid.
Branded as “South Americans” by some media, Impar Grupo’s entry into Spain in 2013 occurred when the Spanish real estate market had not yet hit rock bottom. In 2014, they began their development activities on Iberian soil. Venezuelan investors from The Corner Group, now part of Impar Grupo, embarked on a dozen luxury projects in Spain and put over a hundred apartments on the market in Madrid’s most exclusive areas, amounting to an investment of 80 million euros up to 2019.
In recent years, the Cohen family, another Venezuelan group investing in Spain, purchased a building on Don Ramón de la Cruz street for 11.5 million euros, renovating it and constructing 14 luxury apartments. The development and marketing were handled by The Corner Group, the real estate company that also facilitated the renovation of the Sambil outlet, owned by the Cohen family.
Impar Grupo arrived in Spain around the same time as Gran Roque Capital, led by Venezuelans Miguel Ángel Capriles and Axel Daniel Capriles.
In 2019, Roberto Perri, a partner at Impar Grupo, noted, “Our investors are all Latin Americans: Mexicans, Venezuelans, Chileans… Half reside in the United States and the other half in their home countries.”
Impar Grupo’s investments have not garnered as much media attention in Spain as those of the Capriles clan, despite being on par.
Regarding the family origins of Gran Roque Capital director Miguel Ángel Capriles López, it is known that he is from a Jewish family. On the other side, from Impar Grupo, is Marco Esteban Zarikian, who comes from an Armenian family that arrived in Venezuela around 1930.
The Zarikian group boasts long-standing traditions in Venezuela. Marco Esteban Zarikian serves as the public face and representative of the group’s interests in Madrid, where they hope to multiply their wealth through large-scale real estate projects. The Zarikian group owns the Eurobuilding Hotel, a five-star accommodation in Caracas. Telares Maracay is another flagship company of the group, which also has decades of tradition in Venezuela. Telares Maracay has been the only textile company to survive in Venezuela since the Chavista government came to power. Unlike other textile companies, the Zarikian family firm has had greater access to importing raw materials with preference from the Chavista administration. In recent years, Telares Maracay has virtually become the only national textile supplier in the Venezuelan market. Marco Esteban Zarikian is the director of the Telares Maracay Group. He also acts as the Director of the Eurobuilding Hotel Group in Venezuela. The Eurobuilding hotel group has branches in Quito (Ecuador), Miami (the United States), and Buenos Aires (Argentina).
In 2018, during an interview on a Venezuelan television channel, Marco Zarikian (senior) defended the thesis that Venezuela would continue to be a land of opportunity for businessmen, who should set aside politics to focus their efforts on producing goods and services. More recently, a similar thesis has gained traction in the South American country with the slogan, “Venezuela is fixed,” a slogan that some argue is just a mere Chavista campaign to project a better image of the battered Venezuelan economy nationally and internationally.
In contrast to Zarikian’s (senior) opinion is the fact that his group has not decided to invest in the Venezuelan real estate market as they do in Spain. Through Impar Grupo, the Zarikians are shifting part of their investments from Venezuela to Spain.
In an interview conducted by the Venezuelan Association of Five-Star Hotels (AVECINTEL), the Zarikian elders shared the origins of their business ventures in Venezuela.
AVECINTEL: Mrs. Sada, Mr. Esteban, and you, your family, are founders of the association. How has your experience been over the years?
Sada Zarikian: Like the president’s wife, I can’t do everything. I needed someone like Tachy by my side. We’ve been accompanied by a wonderful woman. The hotel has grown significantly, and her work is evident in all its spaces.
Every day there is something different. For example, the food for “Thanksgiving Day,” on November 24, was an elegant event, which not everyone does. Tachy worked with the executive team. These are things you can’t forget. Another occasion was last Christmas. It was so beautiful! A fresh and important expression.
AVECINTEL: Do you remember when Mr. Esteban began the idea of hotels?
Sada Zarikian: In 1976. The sale of the Tamanaco Intercontinental hotel was presented, and my husband was immediately interested. So, with a group of friends, he bought it. That’s where our journey began. My husband presided over it for 15 years.
Then the opportunity arose to purchase the Eurobuilding. I have participated in the inauguration of several hotels.
AVECINTEL: We always say Tachy is the first lady in hospitality, but listening to you shows that behind her is a great woman, you. How did it all start, what was your arrival to the country like?
Sada Zarikian: It’s been almost 100 years…I can recall almost everything.
Coming to Venezuela in 1946 was difficult for me. I was very North American. I had to seek out people who spoke English; I also started visiting the American Church in El Bosque.
By 1948, there were 50 North Americans living in Caracas. The Venezuelan American University Women’s Association was formed, and I was part of the founding group. It was an interesting experience because the women in the association were from 19 countries. Over time, the foreigners left.
We created committees and held activities with children. Nowadays, it’s a small group since most have left. We still have some children we’ve managed to sponsor. The funds have been raised through the sale of second-hand clothing, in good condition. It has been a success. It’s a coordinated effort, and the helpers work for free.
AVECINTEL: How do you remember Mr. Esteban?
Sada Zarikian: My husband was fabulous. He always worked until the last minute. I wrote a book telling his story: From Dust to Gold, Esteban Zarikian. Story of a Survivor. He started with nothing. Everything he achieved, he did through hard work.
I met him in New York during a trip.
I finished my college education in Minnesota and went to New York with a friend. I worked at Time magazine and had already graduated as an advertiser. After a year and a half, I met this gentleman, Esteban Zarikian.
We went to dinner with some very prominent people and the parents of a university friend. It was a dinner with music. I was scared that this gentleman wouldn’t know how to dance. How would I look in front of my friends? It turned out to be a wonderful dancer, better than anyone else. A fabulous dancer.
In that moment, he told me he wanted to marry me. I replied, “Are you crazy? I don’t know you; I don’t want to. How can you ask me to marry you? Take your time; you will change your mind.”
I returned home, called my mother in Minneapolis, and told her, “This man wants to marry me.”
The next Monday, my friend wanted to meet him. I called him and he apologized for not calling me. He invited us to dinner at a Spanish restaurant. My friend knew how to speak Spanish because she had studied it. I only knew a little.
I was interested in knowing his personal story.
I agreed to marry him, but first, we had to visit my parents to see what they would say. We got married in January in Minneapolis, and he left in September. He returned to Caracas while I went back to New York.
AVECINTEL: How did you adapt to this environment?
Sada Zarikian: I started with American people first. Then I found wonderful Venezuelan women, people like Kathy Phelps, who was a wonderful friend. She participated in many different activities. She named me president of the Venezuelan Girl Scouts. She took me to many places; I was never short of activities.
AVECINTEL: Did you ever feel like you wanted to return to the United States?
Sada Zarikian: No, because I was very busy here.
AVECINTEL: How did you meet Tachy?
Sada Zarikian: It was through the hotels.
Tachy Molina: When we opened the Eurobuilding Maiquetía, we started to become closer. In the Caracas headquarters, Mr. Esteban was present. When he passed away, there were Mrs. Sada Zarikian, Zareh Zarikian, and Marco Zarikian. In 2002 is when the relationship became stronger because we began to open hotels, travel, and do activities here.
I have been at the hotel since 1989. The Zarikian family began purchasing in 1992.
AVECINTEL: Whose hotel was it?
Tachy Molina: Originally, from 1989 to 1992, it was of the Spaniards. In 1992, the Zarikian and Di Mase families acquired the hotel. In 1998, Mr. Esteban and the Zarikian family bought all shares from Fogade.
AVECINTEL: What were your activities like together?
Sada Zarikian: In 2002, we had many activities with diplomats, we invited them to dinners. At the end of the year, we sent invitations to a multitude of people: ambassadors, the diplomatic corps, company presidents, about 300 people.
Tachy helped us with thank-you dinners for our clients. We were always the hostesses of these events. We hosted these kinds of dinners from 2006 until 2017. We stopped doing them because of the protests. We hope to resume them this year. Organizations like the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra and artists like Yolanda Moreno participated.
AVECINTEL: Tachy, how was the process of Mr. Esteban buying shares in the Eurobuilding hotel? You were working with another group and then shifted to work with him.
Tachy Molina: Eduardo was small at that time, but he can tell you how the buying process was. I was not in my current position.
Eduardo Zarikian: I was ten years old; Tachy was already working here. We were at the Tamanaco. I remember we went there occasionally; we were not majority shareholders. Although my grandfather was the president, it wasn’t the same.
The opportunity to purchase the Eurobuilding arose. What my father recalls is that the hotel had a debt of $20 million. In addition, it was not ready. The Eurosuites tower was under construction. It had no furniture or finishes. Some floors lacked services. A significant investment was required to pay that debt and to the Spaniards who sold the hotel. It was a steep hill to climb.
AVECINTEL: Mr. Eduardo, of what you’ve heard or can recall, how did your family view the investment made by your grandfather and father, with that debt?
Eduardo Zarikian: It wasn’t easy. But since my grandfather was a businessman with great vision, he was convinced this debt could be paid off. He always believed in Venezuela. He thought the country would experience a resurgence after Black Friday in 1983, which led to the Spaniards going bankrupt before finishing the hotel.
We acquired the Eurobuilding in 1992, but the Spaniards came with debts. They founded the company in 1978.
AVECINTEL: The Zarikian family, along with Giuseppe De Pinto and Peter Schiepe, are the three main founders. Peter Schiepe was a representative of Hilton. Mr. Giuseppe De Pinto represents Maruma and was involved in the Crowne Plaza with Intercontinental, and you were coming from the Tamanaco to here. The 30 years of AVECINTEL coincide with the 30 years of Eurobuilding.
Eduardo Zarikian: Before AVECINTEL was created, there were not many five-star hotels. There was the Tamanaco Intercontinental and Hilton.
AVECINTEL: Then other chains arrived, like Holiday Inn, which was in Paseo Las Mercedes. They were smaller. One of the reasons the three founding hotels created the association was that there were many small family-owned hotels, and they dealt with issues that weren’t related to large operations.
Representatives from Hilton told Dr. Álvarez de Lugo that they were used to having this type of meetings, but the ones in Venezuela did not meet their expectations.
Eduardo Zarikian: My grandfather recognized the importance of gathering as an industry.
Zareh Zarikian: The AVECINTEL headquarters was here for many years.
Tachy Molina: It was the initial headquarters.
AVECINTEL: As a hotel institution in the country, you have been a great bastion for the development of guild and business within the hotel sector. In celebrating these 30 years, we want to emphasize what you have done, not only as founders of AVECINTEL but also for advancing the hotel industry in Venezuela.
We’ve heard people say, “I was formed at Tamanaco,” but they also say, “I come from Eurobuilding.” People feel it as a school, as an identity.
Zareh Zarikian: Today, almost every other hotel has someone from Eurobuilding, even at the Ávila.
Eduardo Zarikian: Retracing history, one thing that happened after my grandfather died in 1999 is that my dad and uncle realized that, outside of Caracas, there was no quality hotel industry, except for the Maruma in Maracaibo.
So, they decided to invest and grow the Eurobuilding. They did this together with the Hampton brand, starting with El Tigre, Maiquetía (there was no airport hotel there, and it was important to have one in the country) and Maracay.
Something that happened there, and which we noticed, is that our standards exceeded those of the Hampton brand. Also, the Eurobuilding brand held much more renown in the country.
Hampton faced issues because they dealt with foreign exchange control. They had issues with the exchange rate used to calculate franchise fees and royalties. We were given a window to exit Hampton, and we did.
Zareh Zarikian: The situation was that, internally, 99% of the customers were from Caracas. The only place Hampton sent guests was to Maiquetía, which was international clients, but they rarely sent people to the interior. This gave rise to the idea of starting to develop the Eurobuilding brand outside of Caracas.
AVECINTEL: In your first investment, you come from the hospitality industry, from the Tamanaco. Did you have hotel knowledge?
Zareh Zarikian: No, our knowledge was and is textile. In that area, the only remaining company is Telares Maracay. It is a brand of a group of companies.
The most significant company in the group is Jeantex, which makes denim fabric. We also produce towel fabric. We have Politex, which produces non-woven polypropylene fabric (for masks). It’s a factory that’s been around for over 25 years. Delilasa, which makes fabric for clutch bags, is also among them.
There used to be Tejidos Aragua, which no longer operates today, but the factory still exists and produced shirting fabrics and sheets. We also make threads.
AVECINTEL: How did you transition from textiles to hospitality?
Sada Zarikian: Because of my husband.
Zareh Zarikian: We faced stiff competition in the 70s and 80s with imported fabrics. We came close to failure as cheap fabrics were imported from China at prices we couldn’t compete with. During that time, the minimum wage in China was $30, while ours was $1,000. Any worker earned Bs. 4,300, at an exchange of Bs. 4.30 per dollar.
Competition was tough, especially with much smuggled fabric entering the market. Jeans that cost the value of the cotton made it almost impossible to maintain our fabric production. My dad suggested we venture into a business where we wouldn’t have to compete with the Chinese since if they came to Venezuela, they’d have to face the same conditions as us.
That’s why he was very interested in the hotel business, which some refer to as “the industry without chimneys.” The Tamanaco provided immense experience in managing the Intercontinental.
Sada Zarikian: Esteban used to say that he came here to establish many factories.
Zareh Zarikian: Now there are only two left. In the textile industry, we employed over 200,000 people, including those in cotton. Today, there are approximately 200 employees. There used to be many large and small companies. Our competitors included Palo Grande, Tócome, Sudamtex, and us.
AVECINTEL: How did you feel when your father purchased a hotel with a debt?
Zareh Zarikian: We supported him. At that time there was debt, but my dad made the calculations and believed it was manageable over the long term.
Initially, it was very challenging. When the deal with the Spaniards was made, everything was contracted in dollars. Then foreign exchange controls came in. Since there were different rates, it was unclear what rate to apply. My dad had to work wonders to know what exchange they’d assign to our debt.
There was debt in bolívares, but they wanted to convert it into dollars. Several banks were involved. Finally, a total was decided upon: approximately $30 million. As I mentioned, it was challenging because the hotel was not ready upon purchase. The suites tower was not finished, there was nothing – only concrete walls.
We had to make an additional investment of $5 million to complete the hotel. Then the exchange controls continued, followed by the devaluation and the bank collapse in 1994. Other shareholders were from the construction sector.
My dad wanted the hotel to be associated with the Marriott chain. Their representatives came, and we had extensive discussions with them. They were very interested and made us an offer, but at that time, we had a partner who insisted on Hyatt. We never reached an agreement.
When the Hyatt representatives came, they indicated we would need to invest an additional $10 million, which we didn’t understand since the hotel was new.
Meanwhile, the banks were intervened. Our partner was the owner of Banco Construcción. In its intervention, the hotel was included as part of the bank’s assets and one of the guarantees for the requested loan to pay the Spaniards.
The government intervened with this partner, and we had Fogade officials at the hotel. They said they would not allow us to hire a franchise or sign a contract with any company since they are 20-year agreements. They could not sell their stake.
Confronting this was tough, as Fogade did not want to pay any of the debt, which remained practically intact, while we had to face it. The hotel was mortgaged for $30 million, which we had to pay.
Tachy Molina: The hotel opened in 1989, but it wasn’t ready. The suites tower was finished between 1993 and 1994.
Eduardo Zarikian: We had Fogade as partners until 1999. My grandfather stated he would resolve this issue before dying. In fact, he did so about four months before his passing. He wanted the priority to buy the hotel because it was his right as one of the shareholders and as stated in the statutes. Fogade wanted to auction it. This was the first conflict.
Later, when we suggested they’d auction, they did not want to do that either. Eventually, it was achieved.
Zareh Zarikian: My brother Marco and I managed to convince Mrs. Esther Margulis to put the hotel up for auction but granted us the option to match the offers of the highest bidder. She agreed. If someone offered 100 bolívares, we could also present an offer of 100 bolívares, provided we had that money.
Fortunately, no one else turned up for the auction. We went alone and purchased it at the price set by them. The amount included all loan interests, which were $14 million with the partners, plus the other interests, which added up to $92 million on the mortgage.
AVECINTEL: In light of chains like Marriott, Hyatt, and others, how does it feel to be conducting business independently?
Zareh Zarikian: We feel satisfied because what matters is the effort made in sales. That’s most essential. All hotels that receive franchises recognize this; their strength comes from a significant percentage of clients they can attract.
It’s true; internationally, Marriott is more recognized than Eurobuilding. Globally, it’s a powerhouse. Yet, we have noticed that, given our conditions in Venezuela and all the limitations placed upon us, we have persevered.
For instance, Intercontinental and Hilton have exited because they can’t provide to Venezuela what they have. It’s challenging since no one visits; there are even travel bans. They send 2, 3 percent and that portion doesn’t cover the costs of a franchise.
We held the Radisson franchise from 2000 to 2005. Once again, the exchange control did not facilitate operations. There were no preferential rates for royalties. For foreigners, it’s not easy to understand the idiosyncrasies of the country and the governments we’ve had.
Eduardo Zarikian: They didn’t provide dollars at the official exchange rate, and Radisson insisted it was our responsibility to find them. They deemed it our liability, which was impossible. And that ended our relationship.
Zareh Zarikian: We have had experiences with three franchises and administrations: Intercontinental, Hampton, and Radisson. This has given us profound insight. We attended very enlightening courses with Hampton. The construction aspect was the best thing that occurred during our time with them.
They provided strong support in service and construction. We received plans and architects came multiple times to oversee the construction. We learned many details from this experience.
Eduardo Zarikian: After these experiences, we realized the need to create our own identity, our own service philosophy and culture. For this, we partnered with LRA Consulting, an American company. They helped us initiate this program.
Tachy Molina: The total number of references we had was five: we worked with Eurobuilding Madrid, which was the first here. They had their Spanish culture. The years we worked with Intercontinental. Then came The Leading Hotels of the World that also had their philosophy. Following this were Hampton and Radisson. We needed to align our criteria.
Zareh Zarikian: Marriott was also an experience. We understand how to draft contracts and clauses; these discussions took several months. We learned plenty.
AVECINTEL: You are a family business, but you’ve operated like a corporate entity with all this expertise. With the help of the consultants, do you consider yourselves an exportable chain at this point? This is a question we know well in the association, but we want everyone to be aware.
Tachy Molina: In fact, we are.
AVECINTEL: How do you manage to have a Eurobuilding in Quito, Miami, and Buenos Aires?
Eduardo Zarikian: Our internationalization began in Buenos Aires. It’s an office building transformed into a small boutique hotel with 58 rooms. The initial reason for this investment was the situation in Argentina. My grandmother’s cousin, who was Argentinian, encouraged us to open a hotel there. He passed away recently.
Initially, it was very tough since there’s intense hotel competition in Buenos Aires. But slowly, we started building the name. Despite being a small hotel and enduring many years of hard work, we achieved recognition in Argentina.
Then the pandemic hit, and tough times returned to that city. Nonetheless, it has been a well-maintained hotel. It’s recognized, customers have excellent experiences. The managers who started in Buenos Aires came from here. The current one is Argentinian but has been attending our training sessions through the years.
Zareh Zarikian: We have a training school and supply our managers with training materials we’ve developed with LRA Consulting. We didn’t just create the program and call it a day. We also opened a department to ensure that the program, which we’ve been rolling out since 2006, continues to evolve. The organizational culture, procedures, and standards are not static but regularly updated.
AVECINTEL: Here are the three generations. How do you feel about this current transformation in the hospitality world, where some services are shifting from traditional physical interactions to digital ones? How do you see your future?
Eduardo Zarikian: We are very pro-technology, and it’s true that some customers may prefer not to interact with anyone. But we also have to make this client feel comfortable and have some interaction with them.
We’ve experienced hotels of that kind. Recently, we visited a five-star hotel in New York where you don’t have to talk to anyone. At some point, it becomes impersonal. Even though it’s an excellent hotel, if I had to return to that city, I would prefer a place where someone attends to me.
This is where the warmth, affection, and encouragement provided by human service becomes significant. This is where the five stars carry their importance.
Indeed, to save costs, you could have a robot deliver room service. It might even be more efficient. But you lose human contact.
If the person performing that job is well-selected and trained because they have a job description, appropriate profile, and experience, the room service delivery will be different. The service rendered by a robot will impress only the first time.
We know we need to have technology as up-to-date as possible, but we believe not everyone can provide that level of service. Our customers like being attended to, greeted by someone, and called by name.
Zareh Zarikian: Customers desire recognition.
Tachy Molina: Customers want to be called by their names, to have us remember which room they prefer.
Eduardo Zarikian: To the question, what makes the Eurobuilding always full? We respond that the customer is the owner of the business; we are empathetic towards them. I don’t wish to imply that we’re perfect, as we make mistakes. But we think about what the customer visiting us might want.
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