Meliá's founder handed the hotel group to his son under a board-approved succession plan

Gabriel Escarrer Juliá founded what became Meliá Hotels International in 1956 and ran it for six decades, turning it into Spain's largest hotel group. In 2011 his son Gabriel Escarrer Jaume became CEO, beginning a staged handover that the family and the board formalized in a succession plan approved on December 13, 2016.

In December 2016 the founder voluntarily gave up his executive functions, and at the general shareholders' meeting of June 29, 2017 he officially handed over leadership to his son, who combined the roles of executive chairman and CEO. The father stayed on as non-executive chairman to lend experience.

Escarrer Jaume took over with the company at its best: earnings per share rose 143% compared with 2015, Meliá tripled its dividend, and the share price climbed more than 25% in 2017. He pushed the shift from owning hotels toward managing them, and focused the group on resort leadership.

The handover happened at a moment of strength: earnings per share up 143% versus 2015, the dividend tripled and the share price up over 25% in 2017.

A board-approved plan gave the transition legal and family legitimacy.

The founder had groomed his son as CEO for years before the formal handover.

Handing over at strength protected the company from a crisis-era transition.

A succession plan approved by the board years ahead lets a founder step aside at strength instead of in crisis.

Escarrer Jaume led Meliá through the pandemic and its recovery, keeping the family as anchor shareholders. His father remained honorary chairman until his death in 2024, with the company calling the 2016 plan an "orderly succession."