A dual role spanning EMEA and the United States
Grupo Barceló confirmed on 24 September 2026 the appointment of Marta Barceló Fontirroig as Vice-President EMEA of Barceló Hotel Group. She will continue as President of Crestline Hotels & Resorts, the US hotel management company acquired by the group in 2017.
Five months earlier, La Tribune de l’Hôtellerie reported her appointment at the head of Crestline Hotels & Resorts, one of the largest independent hotel management companies in the United States, with a portfolio of 113 hotels and 16,000 rooms. Her remit now extends to the group’s European, Middle Eastern and African markets.
In a post on LinkedIn, the new Vice-President described EMEA as a strategic region for the Group, at a particularly relevant moment for the tourism industry. She added that it was an honour to be part of a project with more than 90 years of history and to contribute to its development through her new responsibilities.
An orderly generational handover
The appointment forms part of the generational handover launched by the group in 2025, which provides for the gradual arrival of the youngest members of the family in various leadership positions. The group describes the transition as orderly and gradual, designed to ensure the continuity of a business venture that is nearly a century old.
The daughter of Simón Pedro Barceló, Marta Barceló Fontirroig has sat since May 2025 on the board of directors of Barceló Corporación Empresarial, where she replaced Pedro Fernández-Martos Montero. The board’s composition remains unchanged.
Simón Pedro Barceló spoke publicly about the appointment at the Forbes Economic Summit 2026. As part of the same reshuffle, Antonio Tovar leads the group’s operations in Latin America.
A career spanning consulting, luxury hospitality and development
A graduate in business administration and management and in international relations from Comillas Pontifical University ICAI-ICADE in Madrid, Marta Barceló Fontirroig began her career outside the family group. She worked at EY and then trained at the Ritz-Carlton Wolfsburg in Germany.
She joined the group in October 2023 as a business development analyst, before being appointed President of Crestline Hotels & Resorts. Her new role broadens her remit to the historic heartland of the group’s hotel business.
An EMEA footprint in full expansion
Founded in 1931 in Felanitx, Mallorca, by Simón Barceló, originally as a transport company, the group now operates in nearly 30 countries, with around 300 hotels and more than 65,000 rooms.
The new Vice-President takes charge of a region where the group is stepping up its projects. As LTH detailed in its overview of Barceló Hotel Group’s 2026 openings in EMEA, this year’s programme includes the Occidental Cairo Grand Museum in Egypt, the Barceló Tiflis in Georgia and the Al Uqair Riviera Resort in Saudi Arabia, alongside several reopenings in Spain. The group has also made commitments on sustainability, including joining the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
Analysis – By entrusting both EMEA and the US management platform to a single executive, Barceló is positioning the fourth generation across two of the group’s key markets. Her rise has been swift, coming less than three years after she joined the company. For partner owners and investors, it signals a family governance model that is preparing its succession without altering the balance of the board.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Barceló Hotel Group names Marta Barceló Fontirroig VP EMEA
Appointed on 24 September 2026, she remains President of US-based Crestline Hotels & Resorts (113 hotels, 16,000 rooms)
Daughter of co-chairman and CEO Simón Pedro Barceló, she has sat on the Barceló Corporación Empresarial board since May 2025
Part of the fourth-generation family succession launched in 2025, with no change to board composition
Group footprint: around 300 hotels and 65,000+ rooms in nearly 30 countries
