MESSAGES FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO
5
The purpose of this annual report is to provide you with the main milestones that have taken
place during the past year as well as the progress made in our responsible contribution on
all areas.
NH Hotel Group has made great steps since it approved the rollout of the Strategic Business
Plan currently under execution two years ago and is building solid and sustainable foundations
for a change of horizon and a more attractive and opportunity-filled future. The Group is ready
for growth and to differentiate itself from its competitors, consolidating its privileged strategic
position within the industry.
The new business model implemented is already showing solid progress, specifically with
respect to the objective of making the Group’s assets more profitable, as is shown by the
company’s return to profitability in the consolidated results.
Strict compliance with each of the strategic initiatives deployed – initiatives designed to boost
revenue, increase margins, expand and fine-tune our management capabilities - evidences
once again the firm commitment of all our employees to achieve the current corporate
objectives.
We have therefore completed the first third of the five-year Business Plan with a better-
positioned portfolio, having invested in the best-performing assets and disposed of those that
were less profitable; having launched a more agile and efficient revenue management strategy
that has driven a positive and accelerated evolution in the key hotel performance metrics
over the course of the year; having registered ongoing improvement in guest experience
satisfaction; and having accelerated our growth in Latin America with the acquisition of the
chain Hoteles Royal, giving us leadership in new destinations such as Colombia.
During this period, we have also concluded the orderly restructuring of the Chairman’s Office
with the unanimous support of all of the members of the Company’s Board of Directors. As a
result, two non-executive joint chairmen and a new vice-chairman have been designated. This
current structure is aligned with the Group’s current vision and the initiatives being executed
under the scope of its Strategic Plan.
In line with its commitment to transparency and corporate governance, NH Hotel Group has
continued to update the Company’s governance system in 2015, adapting its bylaws, corporate
policies and internal regulations to the governance recommendations of the international
markets, the bodies regulating listed companies and leading proxy advisors.
In parallel, the Group has reinforced its business ethics commitment by updating the Code
of Conduct governing the professional conduct of its employees and the members of its
governance bodies, as well as its customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. This revision has
been promoted and coordinated by the Compliance Office, an area set up at the end of 2014
with the aim of raising the profile of and supervising the body of internal rules and regulations.
Also in 2015, the Group has included corporate responsibility duties within the Board of
Directors, developing a policy for implementing socially-responsible management Group-
wide and which fulfilment is supervised by the Appointments, Remunerations and Corporate
Governance Committee.
Moreover, we have made progress on the Group’s responsible development, delivering
a substantial improvement in our performance led by a concrete and feasible plan. The
achievements accomplished and the international recognition garnered endorse the solidity
and potential of the five year Strategic Plan in which the entire organisation is immersed and
whose risk of execution has been substantially mitigated now that most of the investments
have been made.
The Company is successfully leading strategic, organisational and cultural change to become a
benchmark in the global sector in terms of profitability, sustainability and engagement. Change
that is already translating into numerous opportunities for the Group, which is ready to face
them, aspiring to generate as much value as possible for its shareholders and recover the
dividend as soon as possible.
On behalf of NH Hotel Group and its Board of Directors, we invite you to learn more about
our performance and achievements in 2015. Achievements made possible by the confidence
and support of our shareholders, partners, customers and, most especially, the exemplary
commitment of our employees. In one way or another, all are helping to build a promising
future for NH Hotel Group.
Many thanks,
Charles Bromwell Mobus
Co-Chairman
José Antonio Castro Sousa
Co-Chairman
