PIPELINE : LATIN AMERICA
DEVELOPERS HUNGRY FOR
LATIN FLAVOR
Brazil is booming , but a burgeoning middle class has investors giving the entire region a closer look .
by ADAM KIRBY , CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
The Wyndham Hotels and Resorts brand recently debuted in Ecuador with the Wyndham Guayaquil .
Anyone who doubts the adage that high tide raises all boats need only look at the rising fortunes of Latin America . Burgeoning middle classes in several states — most notably Brazil — are traveling beyond their own borders for the first time , and hoteliers are now drawing business from closer to home .
Nearly 60,000 guestrooms are under development across South and Central America , Mexico and the Caribbean , according to STR , and about a third of those are in Brazil . A host of other Latin America markets are emerging as hot markets , to varying degrees — Chile , Peru , Panama and Colombia are most often mentioned — and the economic stagnancy of culturally similar Europe markets , namely Spain and Portugal , is nudging extra attention from overseas investors .
Despite stepped-up competition , Accor continues to be the dominant international player in Latin America , claiming a regional pipeline of 147 hotels comprising 22,892 rooms slated to open by 2016 , on top of an existing 221 properties and 36,000 rooms . Accor has also been aggressive with acquisitions , spending US $ 275 million last year to absorb the 14 hotels and 15 projects under Grupo Posadas ’ defunct
Caesar brand . The Adagio , Ibis Style and MGallery brands are slated to debut in Latin America this year .
Wyndham Hotel Group claims a regional pipeline of 9,000 rooms , half of them in Brazil and about 75 % at midscale and below , complementing a portfolio of 114 properties and 15,000 guestrooms across seven brands . And signaling Marriott International ’ s bullishness on the region , the company last year named its first Latin America vice president . Marriott has 35 signed projects in Latin America , and the goal is to double that figure by 2017 , growing its portfolio from 75 to about 150 .
www . hotelsmag . com September 2013 HOTELS 47