Global Update
Hotel Atton Vitacura is in Santiago , Chile , where the company has three hotels .
A-tt-on
Take the two “ t ’ s ” of Hyatt and Marriott , the “ on ” at the end of Hilton and Sheraton and put an “ A ” at the beginning to be at the top of every listing , and you get Atton , a fledging brand based in Santiago , Chile , which wants to be the leading Latin American hotel
brand with a regional focus on corporate business travelers .
To date , Capital Advisors , a local private equity group that in 2008 bought out the entrepreneurs who founded the hotel company in 2000 , has four hotels open and a fifth under development in Miami ’ s Brickell neighborhood . “ We plan to more than double the size of the company in four to five years in big Latin American corporate markets ,” says Francisco Levine , who acts as CEO for the investors led by Alfonso Peró , president of the board for Atton Hotels and partner at Capital Advisors . Growth will initially focus on South America with some development work already underway in Colombia and Peru .
Atton is currently the owneroperator of three hotels with 750 keys in Santiago and 250 keys in Lima , Peru , where Levine says the efficient 4-star model averages about a US $ 135-US $ 140 dollar rate and occupancy levels 10 % above the comp set .
Another US $ 55 million is going toward a flagship in Miami . “ Half the foreign tourists coming to Miami are from Latin America ,” Levine says , adding that more North American development is possible .
The Atton style is contemporary and somewhat minimalist using raw materials like concrete and stone to attract a younger demographic , but it is also efficient ( no spas , just one restaurant ), clean and friendly to attract corporate travelers , according to Levine .
Atton will finance its growth with a mix of capital and debt , and is considering raising capital from the stock market . “ We have been doing some work to prepare the company to raise funds , but we don ’ t have definition around an IPO date ,” he says .
MyAnMAr rising
What will hotelkeeping look like in the new Myanmar ? One of the first examples can be found in the shadows of the temples of Bagan at Apple Tree Asia ’ s boutiquestyle Bagan Lodge , which is set to welcome its first guests in August .
On the doorstep of an archaeological heritage site , the 85-room tented Bagan Lodge was conceptualized by French designer Brigitte Dumont de Chassart , who melds traditional Burmese design , colonial-era trappings and contemporary décor . Along with a spa , pool and open-air restaurant , rooms range from the 50- sq-m ( 538-sq-ft ) deluxe to the 196-sq-m ( 2,110-sq-ft ), four-bedroom Queen Victoria Suite .
10 HOTELS April 2014 www . hotelsmag . com