Mexico In The Throes Of Vast Hospitality Improvements
<B>Mexico In The Throes Of Vast Hospitality Improvements</B>
By Frank Rosci
A number of new business travel and meetings infrastructure developments are in the works for Mexico, and with a host of recent additions already up and running, corporate travelers and meeting groups headed south will find the going easier and the work atmosphere more productive.
During the first six months of this year, Mexico's meeting business has grown significantly, compared with the first six months of 1999. "Worldwide meetings are driving the numbers up, as is new air service, but Mexico still needs more airlift and more airline seats," said Alexander Stadlin, area vice president of Marriott Hotels Mexico and general manager of JW Marriott Hotel Mexico City.
Still, "Mexico's meetings and convention business will be a major area of emphasis in the next 12 months," said Agustin Arroyo, president of the Mexico City Tourism Authority.
Throughout the country, hotels are adding guest rooms and meeting space, plus the latest computer and telecommunications amenities and services, to meet demand from the U.S. market. For instance, in Mexico City, the 607-room Fiesta Americana Reforma has added a new business center and four meeting rooms, while the 759-room Hotel Nikko is renovating its business center and adding five new meeting rooms. The Melia Mexico Reforma Hotel is completing a $6 million renovation that includes the addition of 30 guest rooms, five meeting rooms and a refurbished lobby.
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, meanwhile, has announced plans to open the 365-room Sheraton Centro Historico Hotel & Convention Center by July 2001. Also opening in 2001 is the 203-room Renaissance Mexico City, the hotelier's first Mexico City property. Debuting in February, the Renaissance will offer guests rooms with high-speed Internet access, direct-dial, two-line phones, voicemail, speaker phone and dataport. Groups will have use of two boardrooms, each for up to 15 people, and a rooftop ballroom, Stadlin said. Rack rates for the Renaissance will run $195 per room, per night.
In Cancun, the 450-room JW Marriott Cancun, two miles south of the city's convention center, also is scheduled to open in early 2001, with 18,000 square feet of meeting space, high-speed Internet access in all guest rooms and a 30,000-sq.-ft. spa, which is expected to become a major draw for incentive groups. Rates for the JW Marriott Cancun will be $259 per room, per night.
The 700-room Melia Cancun Convention Center Beach and Spa Resort has completed a $34 million expansion that included the addition of 166 guest rooms and a new full-service convention center, bringing total meeting space at the property to 31,000 square feet. Groups of up to 1,200 attendees now can be accommodated.
Traditionally, Mexico has placed great value on incentive travel. At the recent IT&ME show at Chicago's McCormick Place, Oct. 10-12, general director Javier Vega Camargo of the new Mexican Tourism Board introduced the body to professional travel buyers. Also known as "the Consejo," the new effort is a joint partnership between government agencies and private organizations. "The incentive travel industry continues to recognize the value that Mexico offers, making us the seventh-most visited destination in the world," Vega Camargo said. "The Mexican Tourism Board will be able to drive more incentive travel to Mexico for several reasons. Hotels and resorts are being developed here by the top companies in the world, including Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton, Hyatt and Hilton. And competition is strong, so the properties are constantly upgrading their facilities to outdo each other.
"While many of our properties have the beauty of Old Mexico on the outside, inside they have the latest electronics and telecommunications." The Tourism Board will work closely with Meeting Professionals International and the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives.
In Los Cabos, a new 350-room Ritz-Carlton is under construction. It will offer 25,000 square feet of meeting space and have an 18-hole championship golf course. For the first time, travelers will be able to fly to Los Cabos nonstop from the U.S. East Coast, when both Continental and Delta begin service from Newark and Atlanta next month.
"The building boom that started in 1994 hasn't let up. We have been adding about 1,000 rooms per year in the past three years. I think we are becoming a very interesting destination for airlines. Obviously, we also want to make sure to have proper air service to support our development," said Alfredo Rosas, president of the Los Cabos Hotel Association.