Les Roches alumni swap Seychelles for Spain to run their own family boutique hotel

Pivoting to a family hotel from five-star luxury means striking the right balance, as Les Roches alumni Adelina Balbuena Ramirez and Thomas Caparo have discovered.

After several years working around the world for some of the industry’s top brands, Les Roches couple Adelina Balbuena Ramirez and Thomas Caparo took a change of direction.

Adelina graduated from Les Roches Marbella in 2001 and from Crans-Montana in winter 2002 with her BBA. She met Thomas, who graduated in summer 2002 with a BBA, when she switched campuses to Switzerland.

While living and working in the Seychelles and having just got married, the pair decided to quit their jobs and start running a small family bed and breakfast in Altea on the Costa Blanca in Spain that belonged to Thomas’s parents.

The initial plan was to turn around its fortunes and prepare it for sale at the best possible price. But something about the different pace of life, being back home and the rewarding challenge of building something up ignited their passion and encouraged them to carry on.

Fast forward a few years and Hotel Abaco has now almost tripled in size, while the couple are also managing a range of private let properties in Altea they have affiliated with their boutique place. And there are even plans for further expansion in the pipeline.

Going for growth

“We had already decided to carry on with the hotel and not to sell it as we believed we had a bit more to give to the project,” explains Adelina. “Then Thomas saw there was a house next to the hotel for rent. We spoke to the owner and asked if we could connect it to the hotel and he agreed. Suddenly, I saw Thomas’s passion and creativity flourish. He designed the refurbishment and the rooms and, like that, we had carried out our first expansion.”

The addition gave Hotel Abaco a rooftop with views and more rooms. But the couple were not finished there.

“We needed space for a breakfast area and we had seen there was a building across from the hotel that was in a dilapidated state,” says Adelina. “We first asked if we could rent the space, but the owners wanted to sell. So we eventually acquired the whole building, added eight more rooms, a serving space and a large lobby. That’s when we decided we were going to stay in Altea for good.”

Branching out

Not content with extending the hotel itself, the couple have also taken over the management of a range of nearby properties on behalf of a customer.

“One of our clients loves the local area and invested in various properties here,” says Adelina. “She loved the concept of our hotel, so asked us to look after them for her because she lives in Monaco. This arrangement worked really well for us. Hotel Abaco is adults only but we had lots of enquiries from families and I didn’t want to turn them away, so we now offer them the chance to stay in these homes instead.

“They’re really close to the hotel, so we allow the customers to use the facilities and offer cleaning and concierge services too. So they get all the benefits of their own house but with the convenience and peace of mind they would get by staying in a hotel.”

The pair now manage nine homes as well as the expanded hotel and have two more properties in the pipeline for the coming year. If either of them thought giving up their role in a five-star hotel to manage a boutique place would be more relaxing, the evidence definitely suggests otherwise.

Finding the right balance

“Every day is a challenge,” says Adelina. “And one of the biggest is money. With the experience we have of working for luxury five star hotels, that’s how we like to do things. Our mindset is to strive for excellence and that’s what we would like to provide to customers too. But our rooms are not €1000 a night and we don’t have a big team or a large financial backer, so we do have to compromise. And when you don’t have investors, everything you try to do has to come out of your own pocket.”

That has meant finding funds for the expansions and to deal with major challenges such as COVID, which really affected the hotel when it was on the point of opening its first extension.

“What’s also difficult is staying up to date with all the latest hospitality trends,” adds Adelina. “Everything is changing and advancing so rapidly, but when you own and operate your own hotel, you’re so involved with the day-to-day, it’s hard to keep up. There’s also limited opportunity to take time out to go networking or learn about the latest new theories or strategies to apply to your business. So I’d say finding a balance between ambition and money and between everyday operations and planning for the future has definitely been our main challenge.”

A disciplined approach

Overcoming these challenges – and those presented by having a young family – has been a feature for Adelina and Thomas since they committed their future to Hotel Abaco. Fortunately, they have their years of experience working in the industry and the advantages bestowed on them by a Les Roches education to call on when needed.

“Work experience has definitely helped in the creation of what we have now,” says Adelina. “But like anything, trial and error also plays a large part in helping you overcome challenging situations.

“I also think the discipline I learned at Les Roches has been incredibly important. Honestly, I think all career paths should include a year of hospitality education because it’s so useful in any profession. The focus on discipline, bonding and excellence you experience and the mindset you develop at Les Roches has definitely contributed to me being where I am today.”

So with further expansion already on the horizon, what’s next for Adelina and Thomas?

“We have both been incredibly active over the past 12 years,” says Adelina. “What we’re looking for now is a little more stability. We’ve lived through many changes since we began this journey and we’d like to continue growing, but maybe in the not-too-distant future it would be nice to have someone else managing the day-to-day and to be able to take a bit more of a back seat. But for the moment, we’re focused on steady growth and finding the right balance.”