“To meet other entrepreneurs that changed the status quo, it is what moves us every day.” - Miguel Velez, Founder & CEO Unlock Boutique Hotels

In 1997, Miguel Velez concluded a degree in Management in the Porto Catholic University and in 2001 he finished an Executive MBA in Marketing in the Porto Business School being on the 3 top students.

He started his career in Sonae Group being the Assistant CEO of the Group Selfrio. After that, he accepted several different challenges in the sales and marketing areas and with 30 years old he was promoted and he became for the first time Director – GlobalMarketing Director at Sogrape Wine Company. He started his career in hospitality in 2005, and nowadays Miguel Velez is the CEO and founder of Unlock Boutique Hotels , a hotel management company, dedicated to boutique hotels with 19 hotels & suites and apartments presently in is portfolio on 11 different locations. UNlock Hotels is currently the second largest boutique hotel chain in Portugal. He became also shareholder in several hotels.

Miguel Velez is also one of the most recent members of EO Portugal - Entrepreneurs' Organization in Portugal in Portugal and tell us about what has it added to his personal and professional life.

How did you come up with the idea to create Unlock Boutique Hotels in 2016?

I started working in the hospitality sector many years after I started my professional life and during this period I had the opportunity to manage globally some of the most relevant world brands in the wine sector and in the telecommunications sector. I learned that even to be small you needed to have scale, great products and to offer something really different than market. Unlock Boutique Hotels is exactly that: to give scale to independent hotels in all areas, including their management, a collection of absolutely unique hotels and to create a chain exclusively focused on charming hotels. The cherry on top of the cake, is the soft brand that will join all the cultures under the same umbrella.

With a selection of Small Independent Boutique Hotels in Portugal, how does the company consider itself a collection of unique experiences?

We just launched a marketing campaign with the headline “This summer to be boutique is an attitude”. I add “to be Unlocker his an attitude”. This is what we have to offer, an attitude that small is beautifull and unique, small is family with a professional service, small is to be big in the experience but being focused in the guest and in the service. Each hotel has a theme: some are palaces, other are noble houses, other are wine and wellness resorts, other are focused on the natural environment and well-being. It is an absolut collection of experiences.

A little over a year ago, Miguel said in an interview that internationalisation is one of the paths for Unlock Boutique Hotels, but in geographies where the company can open more than one hotel. Is there a long way to go or is the company already betting on these plans?

Trying to clarify what I said was that we had many invitations to go abroad and when we have the perfect one we will considered it but for that we would need to start with some hotels and not just one. Like I said in the previous answers it is all about experiences, scale and to be relevant in the market and this we can only achieve with a collection of hotels.?Internationalization is not a priority today but we are always opened to study opportunities. Having said that there are many things that we want to continue doing in Portugal and this is where we are focused and putting most of our energy.

With the entry of Portugal Ventures earlier thi year as a new shareholder in the company, you expect to grow a new business model for the group, hotel renting. Are these kinds of ambitions something that make you stand out as an entrepreneur?

The entry of Portugal Ventures was for us game changing in several aspects. As we all know, PV is probably the most recognized venture capital in Portugal with a team of amazing professionals. We knew them and they knew us for a long time but only at the end of last year both sides found a strong reason to join efforts. We are now starting this new era after 6 years fully concentrated in founding, creating and bringing Unlock Hotels to the level that we have today, the second largest boutique hotels chain in Portugal. This partnership, like others that we had and that we want to have in the future are what can put us in another level to make the difference in the market, every time bigger.

As an entrepreneur and investor, do you already have projects in mind for the future?

I am very focused in Unlock Hotels and to continue to bring added value to the company. Some of the projects that I have in mind are to be implemented in Unlock but I also have other ideas and concepts that I want to create outside. It is a question of timing and opportunity and I have fortunately received other invitations to continue innovating in this and other sectors.

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We know that Miguel is one of the most recent members of EO (Entrepreneur's Organization) in Portugal. How did you get to know about the organization?

I am very proud to be part of EO. I was exceptionally welcomed. It is an amazing group of entrepreneurs, managers and people. During many years I was member of others CEO organizations but in this stage of my life I was looking to meet other entrepreneurs who had created their own business and with an international vision and experience. To be a CEO/Managing Director in a big company is totally different of starting your own business. EO opened a new world of opportunities for me, different realities and different visions. Until now, I only had the opportunity to interact with other EOers mainly in Portugal and to integrate a forum. Both cases were great opportunities and I learned already a lot and I have grown as a person. I could not be happier and my expectations were more than filled.

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As a member of this organization, what has it added to your personal and professional life?

In my personal side, my wife joined the first spouses and life partners forum in Portugal. For her and for me it was something that we both believed it would be very relevant for our family. My wife is starting to manage some business and the changes of experiences will be very important at all level. In my professional life, I am in an amazing forum with absolutely exceptional entrepreneurs and with a global experience and this was exactly what I was looking for.

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If you had to describe Entrepreuneurs' Organization and how it could attract more members in our country, how would you do it?

In the base, it remembers me the reason why I created Unlock Hotels. To be alone is to reduce the dimension of the world. Not to share experiences is to reduce all our capacities. To meet other entrepreneurs that changed the status quo or at least that tried it is what moves us every day. I found EO unique because of the members and their unique capacities that allow them to be an EOer.