Tauá Group: the hotel chain that almost closed in the pandemic and will double in size

The Tauá Group, was founded by a family of that, began in the few: first with a place with some rooms, then some expansions, until the inauguration of new units and the management of one of the most iconic buildings in Brazil, the Large Hotel Thermas de Araxá.

Now, the miners want to take the cheese bread and the mining hospitality to the Northeast, with the inauguration of a unit in João Pessoa, Paraíba, and aim to earn the first billion reais in 2026. “Today we have 1,800 rooms. In two years, we will have 3,000. With that, let’s double the size of the company, ”says Lizete Ribeiro, from Tauá Group – and daughter of João and Lizete, the creators of the business. Lizete spoke in an interview with Podcast on InfoMoney entrepreneurship ,.

The history of family entrepreneurship, however, begins well before that. When John, the father of the current CEO, was 18 years old and worked as a bus changer. The young man wanted to ascend to the driver’s position, but the change of office required the specific driver’s license. John’s difficulties, however, began even before: he needed to learn to read and write. “My father did not get the driver’s place because he needed to have experience, but he fell in love with the study and started teaching,” he says.

Gradually, as a good miner, he joined money and opened a supplementary course that hired, as a geography teacher, Lizete – the mother of the current CEO. They met, dated, engaged and married in three months.

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With the success of the course, the family, which at that time had three children – João Luiz, Daniel and Lizete – bought a place in Caeté, in the region of Belo Horizonte. As the family took many friends to enjoy the place, what was left after the weekend was a lot of dirt and expense to pay. Then came the idea of ​​a new business: “Let’s make some rooms here that friends will come back paying.” 22 apartments were made and the Tauá Fazenda Hotel began.

Knowing very little of hospitality, the family was guided by a simple mantra “client is king”. “My father has always said: You have to smile and adjust the customer. Whatever he wants, we will do. He needs to feel at home here, ”he says.

The big turn took place with a request from Vale (), which had a nearby headquarters and sought a place to make a corporate event in the region. “We made a salon and understood that this could play: with companies during the week, and tourists on weekends,” he says.

With the event space, it was necessary to make more rooms which, in turn, brought the need for a larger restaurant. “One thing was pulling the other until we became the largest space for events in Minas, with 350 rooms and 30 events for events,” he summarizes.

The next step was to change state. After leaving the idea of ​​building in the coastal region, the family sought land near São Paulo and inaugurated, in 2008, Tauá Atibaia. “The adaptation was very difficult. There in Minas, we embraced people, leaning all the time. And we realized that Paulistas didn’t like it. We had to understand that it is possible to be very kind, polite and helpful without leaning against, ”he says.

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The property fell in the taste of the Paulistas: after inaugurating with 70 rooms, it today has 788 apartments, 63 event spaces besides an indoor water park. “We are going to 1,100 rooms. We don’t stop building or growing, ”he says.

In February 2010, a bid was opened to manage the history Large Araxá Hotel. “We did the math and we thought it would be to try. We were the only ones to present a proposal and, suddenly we had another hotel in the portfolio. And it was not any space: it is one of the most important buildings in Brazil, made by Getúlio Vargas along with the governor of Minas, Benedito Valadares. The work cost three times the budget of Minas and is full of history, ”he says.

The stone on the way

In 2017, the company entered a society for a different construction, a corporate hotel, and decided to start a new unit in Alexânia, a municipality between Brasilia and Goiânia. “So we took a very big step. Instead of starting small, as we had done the other times, we started with a New York architect projecting 424 apartments and 15 jacuzzis in the pool. We did everything with our own resources and had 500 people working on the work in March 2020, ”he says.

With the arrival of the pandemic, the entry of money in the company is over. “My brother, who was the CEO at the time, received 19 ‘no’ from the banks, but got $ 35 million to finish the work with a bank that was very partner. On the other hand, we gave everything we had – in the legal entity and in individuals – as guarantee. We had to dismiss 500 people to save the other 1,000 working with us. It was very difficult, ”he says.

In May, the 350 apartments Hotel of Caeté was allowed to reopen with 22 bedrooms. “It was a very complicated exercise of courage. More than security, we had to pass the sense of security. And the hotels started filling because people felt safer there. The fact that all our spaces are close to highways was a major factor that made us grow a lot at this time, ”he recalls.

Now the company aims at the Northeast. “Our view is to continue growing. We are building a 1,000 room resort in João Pessoa, Paraíba, to open in May 2026. We are with three others at Pipeline to start the works, ”says Lizete.

For more details of the company’s history and know your strategy for the future, see the full episode that is already available on the channel of. The program is available and in its podcast version on the main streaming platforms such as,,,

About zero to the top

O podcast From zero to top It is a production of Infomoney And it brings, every Friday, the history of prominent women and men in the Brazilian market to tell their history, sharing the biggest challenges faced along the way and the main strategies used in the construction of the business.

The program has already received names as founder of Brisanet; , from the Simpar group; Founder of XP Investimentos; , Chairman da Cognna; Supley group co -founder; CEO and founder of 3Tentos; CEO of the King of Mate; one of the founders of the free market; the entrepreneur; , founder and CEO of Cobasi; Executive responsible for Renner’s rise; and told dozens of success stories.