With new properties in
Mexico, Honduras and Colombia, La Quinta Inns & Suites continues to expand
in Latin America. Executives said the midprice brand's international growth
would center on that region for the foreseeable future.
La Quinta properties in
the works include hotels in Panama City, Guatemala City and several Honduran
cities, including the country's capital Tegucigalpa, set to open in 2014.
La Quinta this year also
will open three properties in Mexico, adding to the five already open,
according to president and CEO Wayne Goldberg. The brand is developing additional
properties in the Colombian cities of Bogotá and Medellín.
La Quinta is looking for
more opportunities in the region and particularly will "be more aggressive
in Mexico," Goldberg told BTN.
"There were a lot
of reasons we knew our brand would do well in Mexico," he said. "We've
been in the border towns, our name translates and we have Hispanic roots."
Although many brands have
accelerated growth in major South American markets, Goldberg said he expects
more to turn their attention to Mexico and Central America, partly because such
top growth markets as China and India have become saturated.
"Not that there
isn't a need and desire to continue to go to India and China, but you hear a
tempering of the enthusiasm, and you hear this enthusiasm accelerate about
Mexico," he said. "We were ahead of the curve, and it will continue
to be very beneficial for us."
La Quinta in recent
years has touted itself as the fastest growing midprice brand. According to STR
data, its system between 2001 and 2011 swelled 166 percent to 817 hotel
properties. Based on percentages, the next-largest growth brand during that
period increased in size by 64 percent.