The president of the Las Palmas hotel employers' association, José María Mañaricua, has opened the can of worms, as Maspalomas24H anticipated, to renew the board of directors in the belief that no one will present an alternative candidate in 2025. Most of the business sources consulted on January 20, 2024 have indicated that "theoretically there will be no problems" although with nuances. In the south of the island of Gran Canaria, this process is generating doubts because there are leaders who share positions with the Tenerife hotel employers' association.
Hotel companies with interests in the south of the island are debating how to place their workers without altering the organization's spending, which since the time of Fernando Fraile has not had a presidency associated with a salary. To form part of the FEHT leadership rather than enter one of its federated associations unless the president appoints a board of directors for reasons of, for example, recognized prestige.
Among the foreign chains, it is known that RIU, according to what Maspalomas24H has been able to find out, does not want Águeda Borges, the main lawyer of the Mallorcan hotel chain, to remain in the background as is the case in the Tenerife hotel association, where she is a member of the board of directors and responsible for the northern area of Ashotel. The Lanzarote lawyer maintains an exquisite balance as a member of the FEHT of Las Palmas and her client's theory is that she should have an executive vice-presidency.
The private equity funds that are involved in tourism are also pulling their strings. Ángel Rivero, former general manager at Meeting Point, is one of the most popular names in the financial sector operating in tourism. He is currently an executive at Dunas (formerly Promotafe) after the purchase of HIP. The funds have given instructions to enter decision-making centres such as Ashotel, where HIP has a presence on the board of directors.
The Pérez Moreno group is in the hotel sector in its purest sense. The growth in Relaxia beds and the monitoring of its interests in the Playa del Inglés area due to the possible entry of Loro Parque one day would force them to increase their weight in the FEHT in Las Palmas, apart from other businesses that the structure run by Javier Pérez Zúñiga has in Lanzarote. "We are a relevant operator, we are waiting for an invitation, we don't know anything," said a source from the company, who asked not to be named.
In Las Palmas capital and Lanzarote, Ginés Parrilla, owner and manager of hotels in Las Palmas, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, is among the possible additions, as are representatives of Acosta Matos, who have been affected by the FTI crisis (owners of the Labranda Marieta property) and manage businesses with Radisson in Lanzarote. Regarding Servatur, sources from the group consulted by Maspalomas24H said on Monday that they are waiting for some proposal from Mañaricua to form part of the Las Palmas employers' association.
The current FEHT board is made up of: José María Mañaricua; vice-president, Theodorus Smulders; honorary president, Fernando Fraile; and members, Ignacio Rivas, Pablo González, Carlos Sotelo, Fermín Sánchez, Fernando Estany, Águeda Borges, Nicolás Villalobos, Dunia Santana, Antonio Márquez, Fernando Mathías (technical) and María Luz Fraile.
