Vila Galé targets more than 60 hotels in next growth push

Portuguese hotel group Vila Galé is preparing a new expansion phase and expects to grow to more than 60 hotels over the next three to four years, a move that matters for investors and suppliers tracking tourism-led growth in Portugal. In an interview with ECO, founder and chairman Jorge Rebelo de Almeida said the company is “in a phase of taking a big leap”, with 14 projects currently under construction and another seven or eight being studied or prepared.

Father and son Jorge and Gonçalo Rebelo de Almeida said the family-owned group now manages more than 50 hotels, 12,000 rooms and 5,000 employees across Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Cuba. The company plans to open three new concepts over the next year, including projects in Miranda do Douro, Penacova and Golegã, while continuing to focus on restoring historic buildings and expanding in Portugal’s interior regions, with examples including Elvas, Beja and Alter do Chão.

Vila Galé said it has already converted 18 historic buildings and currently has five cultural heritage projects under way, including a palace in Lisbon’s Conde Barão area. Jorge Rebelo de Almeida said these projects are among the most complex to execute because of regulatory and heritage-related hurdles, but argued they help differentiate the group’s tourism offering.

The group closed 2025 with operating profit of €78.3 million, up 10% from the previous year, according to its annual report. Gonçalo Rebelo de Almeida also warned that Lisbon’s airport constraints could limit tourism growth for the next decade, saying that even in the most optimistic scenario for a new airport, the region could face years of stagnation in visitor numbers while hotel supply continues to rise.

Originally published at Eco.pt