Telefónica and Meliá Hotels International have signed an agreement to continue accelerating the technological transformation of the hotel group through this strategic alliance. After a decade of collaboration, both companies are entering a new phase aimed at promoting a global model of digital services, supported by the cloud, artificial intelligence, and security as key elements, which will support over 250 hotels distributed across 40 countries.
The renewal of the agreement is part of Meliá's digital transformation strategy, which aims to continue evolving towards a homogeneous, secure, and scalable technological environment that allows for agile responses to the needs of a constantly growing global organisation.
The collaboration between Telefónica and Meliá already includes 150 connected hotels in Spain, thanks to a technological deployment that has a significant presence in key destinations in the country, such as the Balearic Islands (37 hotels), Andalusia (33), and the Canary Islands (19), as well as the Community of Madrid, Catalonia, and the Valencian Community, each with 16 establishments. This implementation reinforces both companies' commitment to innovation and the digital transformation of the hotel industry.
The new phase in their strategic alliance will support more than 250 hotels in 40 countries, reinforcing a global, homogeneous, and secure digital environment for the entire organisation
To this end, Telefónica will continue providing a comprehensive Service Desk service model—which includes technical support and specialised assistance for incidents and digital solutions—as well as workplace management, field support, security, cloud services, functional support, and communications. This model currently serves nearly 9,000 technological devices distributed across Meliá hotels and corporate offices worldwide.
As part of this technological management, the alliance aims to promote a more efficient way of operating, allowing teams to focus their efforts on what truly adds value: hotel operations and guest experience.
One of the main advancements of this new phase is the expansion and evolution of AI use in the Service Desk, which will enable the evolution towards increasingly predictive and proactive support models, with a greater capacity for incident resolution and a more agile and personalised experience for users.
Artificial intelligence will enhance its capabilities within the services managed by Telefónica, allowing for greater process automation, more proactive attention, and a quicker resolution of incidents
Currently, Meliá manages nearly 240,000 requests per year, of which over 70% are already automated, as well as more than 12,000 monthly conversations assisted by artificial intelligence. These figures reflect the level of digital maturity achieved by the company and the potential of AI to continue transforming the way technological services are provided and consumed.
Furthermore, cybersecurity constitutes another of the strategic pillars of this collaboration. The agreement includes advanced cybersecurity services that strengthen the protection of the hotel group's systems and data, as well as ensuring business continuity in an increasingly demanding digital environment.
Antonio Báez, CIO of Meliá Hotels International, states: “Our goal is for technology to make hotel management simpler and the relationship with our clients more human. We want technology to be a key player in operations but invisible in the experience. Because the better it works, the more space it leaves for our people to make our hospitality promise a reality. Therefore, for us, the true success of technology is measured by the satisfaction of our guests and employees.”
Currently, Meliá processes 240,000 requests per year - 70% of which are already automated - and maintains over 12,000 monthly conversations assisted by AI
Álvaro Jiménez Mogollón, Director of Sales, Banking, Insurance, Leisure, and Tourism at Telefónica Spain, declares: “This agreement consolidates our position as a reference technological partner for large companies, to which we seek to offer more and better services. In this context, Telefónica takes on the challenge of providing citizens with the best access to digital technologies. Our proposal integrates technology, security, and artificial intelligence to support Meliá in its transformation towards a more efficient, global, and secure operational model.”
This new phase strengthens a strategic alliance that began in 2016, during which Telefónica has established itself as one of the main technological partners of Meliá Hotels International. This collaboration focuses on digital transformation, including infrastructure management, advanced 5G connectivity, cloud services, and innovative solutions for the hotel of the future, such as network slicing technology.
The Meliá Madrid Serrano Hotel was the first in Spain with indoor coverage of 5G NSA, 5G SA, and network slicing, with several virtual mobile networks (slices) configured to guarantee service for different connectivity needs, such as streaming video services even during peak guest or visitor times.
