Covid-19: Cristiano Ronaldo's Pestana CR7 hotels under threat
The economic impact of the coronavirus crisis has left Cristiano Ronaldo's chain of Pestana CR7 hotels facing up to an uncertain future.
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the hospitality industry has left Juventus and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo’s chain of hotels facing an uncertain future.
In partnership with Dionisio Pestana, the head of the Pestana Hotel Group, Ronaldo currently owns two hotels: one in Funchal, his hometown on the island of Madeira, and another in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.
Cristiano Ronaldo hotel in Funchal closed - and may not reopen
However, the Hotel Pestana CR7 Funchal, the first of the establishments to be opened, has now been closed for several months, amid an 80% drop in tourism on Madeira as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Hotel Pestana CR7 Lisboa has suffered such a decrease in demand that it has been forced to almost halve its regular nightly room rates, from 150 euros to 77 euros.
Ronaldo is yet to publicly comment on the plight of his hotels, but people close to the 35-year-old have indicated in the Madeiran media that the prospects of the Funchal hotel reopening look bleak, even if the current health crisis improves within the short term.
Covid-19 hits Pestana CR7 expansion plans: Manchester, Madrid...
Together with Dionisio Pestana, Ronaldo had been in the process of expanding his portfolio of hotels to locations outside of Portugal, with plans made for Manchester and Madrid. Such projects have now been left up in the air.
In the UK city, where the forward spent six years as a player with Premier League club Manchester United, the opening of a 30-million-euro hotel in central Picadilly Gardens had been pencilled in for 2023.
Meanwhile, in the Spanish capital - a city he called home during a nine-season spell at LaLiga side Real Madrid - a 15-million-euro establishment has been in construction on Gran Vía, the main shopping street.
Initially due to welcome its first guests in 2019, the Pestana CR7 Gran Vía has seen its launch delayed more than once. According to recent reports, there is now no date set for its opening.
Ronaldo and Pestana have also been getting ready to open sites in New York, Marrakech and Paris.