Aena has kicked off the tender process for two major hotels at Barcelona El Prat and Madrid Barajas airports. Both will have at least 300 rooms each and sit in prime spots at the airports. The El Prat hotel will face Terminal 2 with 20,000 square metres of space, whilst Madrid’s will occupy the current T2 terminal with 18,400 square metres.
The projects form part of Aena’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan to develop airport cities that commercially exploit their surroundings. The tender runs simultaneously for both sites, attracting major hotel operators and international investors. Companies can bid for either lot separately or together.
Aena is offering a 75-year surface rights concession for construction and operation. In return, operators will pay an annual fee with a minimum fixed amount that increases based on revenue generated. Meanwhile, operators can change brand or management during the contract, provided they meet experience requirements and partner with an international hotel group.
Both hotels must be at least four-star rated with minimum 300 rooms each. They’ll also need to offer restaurants, conference rooms, retail areas and gyms. Once tenders are published, interested groups have four months to submit offers.
Operators will get design flexibility to adapt the layout and space distribution to their needs. However, they must respect urban planning and sustainability criteria set by Aena. The airport operator has drafted a White Paper setting out objectives and requirements, ensuring both developments have a unified vision with common standards.
The El Prat airport city will be a complex bringing together offices, warehouses, logistics centres, hotels and cargo services in one zone. Recently, Aena awarded Cilsa a 50,000 square metre plot for logistics centres on airport land. A new 10,000 square metre DHL facility just entered service, and new installations for IAS Handling and Swissport have been awarded.
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