Grupo Piñero: Tourism Operator Leverages Speexx to Train its Global Workforce
Grupo Piñero, a Spanish tourism company with over 40 years of history featuring brands like Bahía Príncipe, Soltour, and Coming2, sought to enhance its international employee language training. In 2023, they chose a blended approach combining Speexx online learning with face-to-face classes.
About
Grupo Piñero, a leader in Spain’s tourism sector, specializes in hotel management and resort operations. With over four decades of experience, the organization is known for its commitment to hospitality excellence and sustainable tourism. Grupo Piñero employs about 15,000 staff across various countries and operates in prime tourist locations in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the USA, Canada, Argentina, Portugal, and Mexico.
The Group offers a broad range of services, including hotels, resorts, villas, and travel services, delivering unique and memorable experiences worldwide. In 2023, Speexx started collaborating with Grupo Piñero, which sought an end-to-end solution for greater flexibility, reach, and self-learning enhancement.
"Our employees feel more comfortable with a blended model of language training, which is much more flexible. We also greatly appreciate that Speexx maintains regular communication with the HR and training departments to ensure user goals are being met."
Challenge
Grupo Piñero’s international scope posed a unique challenge for its language training initiative. With employees immersed in different cultures, it was crucial to offer a flexible solution that would adapt to the specific needs and realities of each country. A Docebo LMS integration was also implemented in 2024. This integration has further facilitated the full implementation of the blended model to which the organization is committed.
Solution
Grupo Piñero opted for a blended training model, combining group face-to-face sessions with Speexx online training. This enables employees to choose between fully online, face-to-face, or a hybrid of both training formats. Adaptations are made according to each country’s specific needs; for example, Spain chose a basic license coupled with group classes, whereas other countries selected more comprehensive solutions with individual sessions.
Additionally, each country can tailor its language focus based on local demands, with the organization currently learning English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German.
Outcome
After initial engagement with the platform during a nine-month program, the results have been very encouraging. In Spain, the average connection time per user reached 22 hours, and the completion rate achieved was 78%.
One of the keys to success has been the diligent follow-up sessions conducted by both parties. Regular progress tracking meetings are organized at a strategic level as well as with critical groups requiring further progress. This ensures not only a high level of commitment to the training programs but also provides substantial support to users, enhancing their learning experience, progress, and overall satisfaction.
Outlook
The collaboration aims to build on the successful outcomes of this initial phase and expand the training to all of Grupo Piñero’s staff, continuing to leverage the effective blended model. In April 2024, the remaining countries completed their first round of training, achieving positive results comparable to those in Spain. With a steadfast commitment to ongoing improvement, Grupo Piñero continues to lead in the global tourism industry by providing exemplary language training to its staff through its partnership with Speexx.
