CEO of hotel group says licensing takes longer than building a hotel

The CEO of Portugal’s Vila Galé hotel group, Gonçalo Rebelo de Almeida, says getting planning permission for a new hotel in Portugal and many other countries often takes longer than it takes to build a new hotel.

In an interview with Radio RTP Antena 1, the CEO said that for a hotel group to want to start up in Portugal today would be difficult to achieve the growth Vila Galé has achieved because of the time its takes to get licenses.

“It is a persistent constraint—not a complete barrier, but a source of difficulty—because licensing processes remain very time-consuming.

It is very hard to secure a permit in less than a year or two. I often say that we have a problem when the licensing process takes longer than the actual construction of a hotel, given that we can build a hotel in 18 to 24 months”, he lamented.

And added: “The licensing process shouldn’t take longer than the actual construction of a hotel. We need clearer rules to avoid wasting time. I’m always thinking about new investors and those initial years—they are paying out but not yet seeing a return.

If Vila Galé were starting out today, it wouldn’t reach a portfolio of 52 hotels in 40 years and moving forward with certain projects might be more difficult”, added Gonçalo Rebelo de Almeida.

Another constraint was the high rate of contractors declining work due to a lack of available labour. “We are constantly looking for partners, and that adds to the complexity of the process”.

Source: Antena 1/Negócios.

Image: T News