We are Ibicencos, so defending our local produce, culture, ecology and society should be our pride and part of our DNA
We are Ibicencos, so defending our local produce, culture, ecology and society should be our pride and part of our DNA
MARC RAHOLA was born in Barcelona in the heart of a family of businessmen, his father the prestigious architect Victor Rahola and his mother the interior designer Mayte Matutes. Despite these antecedents, Rahola decided to choose a different route and study Business Management and Administration before joining the family business: Palladium Hotel Group in 1998. At present, he is the promoter, creator and founder of OD Group, the project that comprises OD Hotels, Concept Hotel Group, Ryans Hotels & Apts, The White Angel and A.B.C., Ocean Almond and Ocean Group Capital.
Why would you recommend our readers to visit Ibiza? And Formentera?
Ibiza is a magic island, and it never stops to amaze me. There are many clichés and despite this, during the pandemic it has survived. Even without the nightlife business we have been able to experience another Ibiza that it was already here. Ibiza is a curious one, it is amazing how such a small space condenses multiple factors in four or five months, something never seen anywhere else. And then the winter peace returns. It is paradise.
Formentera is my haven of peace. When I want to disconnect, I go to Formentera. My weeklong escapes, aside from one day visits, are an obliged pilgrimage for the whole family.
What is your favourite spot in Ibiza?
I have many favourite spots. In summer I love Ses Boques restaurant and in winter I like going to Can Pau. If you mean actual spots, in winter I love wandering around Corona de Sant Mateu or Salines. In winter the island gives me a lot of peace and I love visiting all these areas.
The hospitality sector is one of the pillars of our island, how do you see its future?
I am an optimist in the sense that Ibiza is a fabulous paradise as well as having that Phoenix effect that allows it to reinvent itself endlessly. But the reality is that it is linked to having talent and with this I’m a bit more pessimist. I believe that the lack of talent will be our Achilles’ heel in the future years. The technification of hotels requires this talent and it needs to be imported, but currently, there is no urban logistics to embrace it. This makes prices to raise and provokes a housing problem that pushes the Ibiza population out. This is something that seriously needs solving.
However, in terms of produce and health, Ibiza is a precedent as long as it handles the weaknesses to face the future with greater guarantees.
Do you believe Ibiza has been able to reinvent itself year after year?
Like I said this is a plus here. The island always excels in produce, but it ends up failing because not being able to read the downfalls. However, it always knows how to reinvent itself and this says a lot about the island. An island two hours away from the main capitals of the world, eurozone, with cosmopolitan society makes it able to absorb from the world to reinvent itself at the most difficult times. It really is unique in this way.
After the pandemic, do you consider it possible for the hotel sector to target the same clientele?
I believe the pandemic has reassessed many processes and introduced new offers, from the Tour Operators (TTOO) vs. Online Travel Agencies (OTA), where the clear winners have been the OTA. However, TTOO have reinvented themselves and continue working. Digitalization had lots to do in this change.
On the other side, the hotels want to offer experiences, document them, and take them viral to explain what they are about and how they differ from each other in order to justify their DNA. All these processes have changed the consumer’s profile who have become better informed and conscious.
What innovative proposals offer OD Hotels for Ibiza?
We want our events to have a marked local feeling and we renew them continually. This approach makes us strive to present fresh and forward-thinking ideas. We have been on trend for some time now, we have organised over 500 exhibitions. However, this must make us reflect now everybody wants to do the same and we must improve our processes with the clients so we understand what they are looking for and how we can continue amazing them year after year.
Why does OD Hotels represent Ibiza?
OD Hotels is an Ibiza company. I’m Ibicenco. I don’t think it represents the island, it wouldn’t be humble to say that, but we are part of Ibiza’s ecosystem. We have the methodology typical of an Ibiza firm that has known how to export our product to Mallorca, Barcelona or Madrid without renouncing to our identity. We are Ibicencos, so defending our local produce, culture, ecology, and society should be our pride and part of our DNA. I guess this makes us more accessible than other hotel groups.
