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# Mallorca at its limit? Why a hotel group is now letting its staff speak
- URL: https://www.eingecheckt.de/en/mallorca-at-its-limit-universal-beach-hotels/
- Published: 2026-10-19T12:22:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-19T14:42:48.000Z
- Description: Universal Beach Hotels shows how hospitality, consideration and responsibility belong together in Mallorca.
- Author: Michael Külbel
- Tags: Sustainability, Interviews & People, Marketing & Communications, People & Work, #en, #magazin_en, #pair_universal_beach_hotels

Key points 
- Universal Beach Hotels is responding to the tourism protests in Mallorca with the “Be a guest, not just a tourist” campaign, running from 5 to 29 October 2026.
- Six members of staff share personal tips on Instagram and LinkedIn for treating Mallorca and its people with respect.
- CEO Yannik Erhart names the housing shortage as the most pressing problem. The company has not seen any drop in bookings because of the protests.
- Within a year, the group saved around four million litres of water and increased its spending on regional products by more than 24 per cent.

**For some time now, Mallorca has been debating how much tourism the island can take. Thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest against the consequences of mass tourism.¹ They complain about rising rents, congested roads and infrastructure that has not kept pace with the island’s development. For the hotel industry, this is a difficult situation, because tourism secures a great many jobs and is also one of the island’s most important economic drivers.**

The family-run company Universal Beach Hotels has decided to respond to this debate with a campaign of its own. Under the motto “Be a guest, not just a tourist”, six members of staff are sharing personal tips on Instagram and LinkedIn from 5 to 29 October 2026 on how to treat Mallorca and its people with respect.² The focus is on simple gestures: a friendly “Bon dia”, shopping at the weekly market, using water mindfully, or leaving the beach the way you would like to find it yourself.

![Instagram post by Universal Beach Hotels: a staff member in conversation with the words “Be a guest, not just a tourist”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/universal-beach-hotels-instagram-auftakt.jpg)

![Instagram post: Maria Carmen Alcala from housekeeping makes a bed, with the line “A simple Bon dia opens doors”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/universal-beach-hotels-instagram-housekeeping.jpg)

![Instagram post: Juan Quetglas rolls out dough, with the line “Don’t just take photos. Take a taste of Mallorca with you”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/universal-beach-hotels-instagram-juan.jpg)

![Instagram post: Julio Marin with a radio, with the line “Not every cove needs a rental car”](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/universal-beach-hotels-instagram-julio.jpg)

The “Be a guest, not just a tourist” campaign on Instagram: the launch on 5 October and tips from Maria Carmen Alcala Hernandez of the housekeeping team, head pastry chef Juan Quetglas Lopez and Julio Marin, head of maintenance. Photo: Universal Beach Hotels (Instagram screenshots)

What stands out is who is delivering these messages. Instead of the marketing department, the campaign puts the spotlight on people who live in Mallorca and work with holidaymakers every day. One of them is Maria Elena Oliver Lladó, director of the Universal Grand Leon & SPA. She and her colleagues know the island both as their home and as their workplace. Their perspective is meant to show that hospitality and the concerns of the local population are not mutually exclusive.

Behind the campaign is a company whose history is closely tied to Mallorca. Universal Beach Hotels was founded by Dr Alfred Erhart and is now run by the third generation. CEO Yannik Erhart therefore faces a challenge familiar to hoteliers in many busy holiday regions: how can tourism be economically successful while benefiting not only guests and businesses, but also the people who live there?

In a written interview with **eingecheckt**, Erhart talks about the protests, the experiences of his staff and what hotel companies can change themselves.

## The protests

**Your family has been at home in Mallorca for almost 80 years. How do you personally experience the protests against tourism, as a businessman and as a Mallorcan?**

We take people’s concerns seriously. The island is not just a holiday destination. Above all, it is home to the people who live here. When housing becomes more and more expensive and everyday life comes under increasing pressure, we have to take that seriously. At the same time, many families on the island owe their livelihood to tourism. Both are part of the truth.

![Quote card in front of lemon trees in Valldemossa: “The island is not just a holiday destination. Above all, it is home to the people who live here.” Yannik Erhart](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/universal-beach-hotels-zitat-heimat-en.jpg)

Yannik Erhart in an interview with eingecheckt. In the background, lemon trees in Valldemossa. Photo: dronepicr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, edited

**The press release says the discontent is not directed at holidaymakers themselves, but at structural problems. Which of these do you consider the most pressing?**

The housing shortage comes first. When people on normal incomes can barely afford a home any more, that is an enormous social problem. On top of that come traffic, the pressure on infrastructure and the use of limited resources such as water. These are challenges that go far beyond tourism, but for which we have to find solutions together.

**How are your guests reacting to the protests? Do you notice uncertainty or questions when people book or during their stay?**

Of course, our guests also follow the debate and the media coverage. In our experience, however, most of them are perfectly able to distinguish between protests against particular developments and a fundamental rejection of holidaymakers. Mallorca is and will remain a hospitable island. We have not seen any drop in bookings in connection with the protests.

## The campaign

**How did the idea for “Be a guest, not just a tourist” come about, and why are your staff the ones giving the tips?**

We did not want to simply lay down rules of behaviour with a wagging finger. Our staff know Mallorca from their everyday lives and experience the island not just as a holiday destination, but as their home. That makes them the most credible ambassadors. Their personal tips are meant to make people think, without trying to tell anyone how to spend their holiday.

![Maria del Carmen Ruiz Caro, wearing blue glasses and a beige blazer, leans smiling on an armchair in the hotel lobby](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/maria-del-carmen-ruiz-caro-universal-grand-leon.jpg)

Maria del Carmen Ruiz Caro, Front Office Manager, in the lobby of the Universal Grand Leon & SPA in Mallorca. The staff are at the heart of the “Be a guest, not just a tourist” campaign. Photo: Universal Beach Hotels

**How do your staff, who live on the island themselves, experience the tension between tourism as an employer and the strains of everyday life?**

Our staff experience both sides. They know how important tourism is for jobs and prosperity. At the same time, they themselves are affected by high rents, busy roads and the rising cost of living. That is precisely why it is important to us to listen to them and make their perspective visible. That was also a key idea behind our campaign.

**Which tip from the Mallorca etiquette guide matters most to you personally, and why?**

For me, the most important message is already in the title: “Be a guest, not just a tourist”. Anyone who is a guest somewhere treats the people and their home with respect. It starts with very simple things: a friendly greeting, consideration in everyday life and the awareness that other people live where we spend our holidays. It should go without saying, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves.

![Crates of oranges, spring onions, lettuce and cabbage outside a shop in Fornalutx](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/obst-gemuese-fornalutx-mallorca.jpg)

Fruit and vegetables in Fornalutx in the north-west of Mallorca. Shopping locally is one of the campaign’s tips. Photo: Michal Osmenda / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

## What a hotel can do

**Etiquette tips alone do not solve a housing shortage or traffic problems. What else is Universal Beach Hotels doing, for example on housing for your staff, water consumption or cooperation with local businesses?**

Good advice alone is not enough; we have to act ourselves. Within a year, we saved around four million litres of water, reduced consumption per overnight stay by almost eleven per cent and increased our spending on regional products by more than 24 per cent. Whenever we have renovated our hotels in recent years, we have always created additional staff rooms as well. At the Universal Beach Lido Park in Paguera, we are renovating not only the guest areas this winter, but also the staff areas and staff rooms. Beyond that, solving the housing shortage requires joint efforts by businesses and the public sector.

![Juan Quetglas Lopez in a white chef’s jacket rolls out dough with a wooden rolling pin on a stainless steel worktop](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/juan-quetglas-lopez-universal-grand-leon.jpg)

Head pastry chef Juan Quetglas Lopez at work in the kitchen of the Universal Grand Leon & SPA. Working with regional suppliers is one of the ways Universal Beach Hotels aims to take responsibility locally. Photo: Universal Beach Hotels / Xisco Monserrat

**Where do you see the hotel industry itself as responsible, and where does a single company reach its limits?**

The hotel industry has to play its part: through responsible use of resources, fair working conditions and investment in sustainable structures. But a hotel company can neither regulate the housing market nor take over transport planning. That requires joint efforts by business, politics and society. Responsibility cannot be delegated, but it cannot be shouldered alone either.

**What would you like to see from politicians in the Balearic Islands?**

Above all, long-term concepts and concrete measures that are actually implemented. We need affordable housing, efficient infrastructure and a clear framework for sustainable tourism development. The interests of the population should be taken into account just as much as the economic importance of tourism. The crucial question is not whether we want tourism, but how we shape it in future.

![Quote card above the village of Valldemossa: “The crucial question is not whether we want tourism, but how we shape it in future.” Yannik Erhart](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/universal-beach-hotels-zitat-gestalten-en.jpg)

Yannik Erhart on the future of tourism in Mallorca. In the background, Valldemossa. Photo: dronepicr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, edited

## Finally

**What would you like to tell German holidaymakers who are wondering whether they should still travel to Mallorca at all?**

Come to Mallorca! The island is beautiful and diverse, and its people are hospitable. Anyone who comes here on holiday need not feel guilty. But perhaps they could become a little more aware that Mallorca is more than sun, sand and sea. Anyone who respects the island and its people is always warmly welcome here.

![Quote card in front of Cala Mesquida beach: “Anyone who comes here on holiday need not feel guilty.” Yannik Erhart](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d1/eb/d1eb58be-ccd0-43e1-b101-0e16365e0b9f/content/images/2026/10/universal-beach-hotels-zitat-gewissen-en.jpg)

Yannik Erhart on holidays in Mallorca. In the background, Cala Mesquida beach. Photo: dronepicr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, edited

**And your advice to hoteliers in other regions facing similar tensions?**

Listen before you answer. Take people’s concerns seriously, even when they are uncomfortable. And above all, do not just talk about sustainability, but take concrete action. In the long run, tourism can only succeed if the people who live there benefit from it too. As hosts, we should never forget that.

## About Universal Beach Hotels

Universal Beach Hotels is a family-run hotel company founded almost 80 years ago by Dr Alfred Erhart. Today it is run by the third generation and operates 18 hotels in the Balearic Islands. According to the company, the group welcomes around 100,000 guests a year and employs some 1,200 people.

Alongside running its hotels, the company is committed to the responsible use of natural resources. In July 2026, Universal Beach Hotels published a sustainability report documenting, among other things, measures to reduce emissions and water consumption. The hotel group also supports the marine conservation project MedGardens, which works to restore ecologically valuable habitats in the Mediterranean.³

More information: [www.universalbeachhotels.com](https://www.universalbeachhotels.com/en/?ref=eingecheckt.de)

Sources

This article is based on a written interview with Yannik Erhart, the Universal Beach Hotels press release and reports on the protests in Mallorca and on the campaign. 

1. [The Local Spain (2026) ](https://www.thelocal.es/20260727/tens-of-thousands-march-in-mallorca-in-latest-overtourism-protest-in-spain?ref=eingecheckt.de)  
*Tens of thousands march in Mallorca in latest overtourism protest in Spain*  
Article of 27 July 2026\. Demonstration in Palma on 26 July 2026, organised by “Menys Turisme, Més Vida”; around 25,000 participants according to the police, around 70,000 according to the organisers.
2. [Mallorca Magazin (2026) ](https://www.mallorcamagazin.com/nachrichten/lokales/2026/10/08/158459/vier-wochen-lang-hotelkette-auf-mallorca-startet-social-media-kampagne-mit-ausflugs-und-einkaufstipps.html?ref=eingecheckt.de)  
*Vier Wochen lang: Hotelkette auf Mallorca startet Social-Media-Kampagne mit Ausflugs- und Einkaufstipps*  
Article of 8 October 2026\. The “Be a guest, not just a tourist” campaign running until 29 October 2026, with six members of staff and their roles. Original publication in German.
3. [Mallorca Magazin (2026) ](https://www.mallorcamagazin.com/nachrichten/wirtschaft/2026/07/31/155457/fur-mallorca-als-lebenswerte-heimat-und-hochwertige-reisedestination-universal-beach-hotels-prasentiert-nachhaltigkeitsbericht.html?ref=eingecheckt.de)  
*„Für Mallorca als lebenswerte Heimat und hochwertige Reisedestination“: Universal Beach Hotels präsentiert Nachhaltigkeitsbericht*  
Article of 31 July 2026\. 2025 sustainability report with figures on water, emissions and regional purchasing, and support for the MedGardens project restoring seagrass meadows and algae forests. Original publication in German.

**Original editorial source:**Written interview with Yannik Erhart, CEO of Universal Beach Hotels, October 2026, and Universal Beach Hotels press release of 7 October 2026\. Answers and quotations translated from German into English by the eingecheckt editorial team.