<B> Shaky Latin America Still Draws Hotel Development</B>
By Judy Williams
Despite economic uncertainty in Latin America, several hotels have begun or are beginning their foray onto the continent. The rapidly growing hotel company Choice Atlantica Hotels, for instance, is moving ahead with plans to develop 140 hotels there over the next five years.
Choice Atlantica Hotels joined forces with the Latin American private equity fund Darby Overseas Ltd. in April 1998, and by year-end, the company's portfolio of operating hotels included two in Brazil, one in Argentina and five in Chile.
After a year punctuated by swift growth, the company anticipates the addition of six hotels in 1999, eight in 2000 and five in 2001. Many projects are under construction, with the first Sleep Inn scheduled to open early this year in Miraflores, an affluent suburb of Lima, Peru.
Choice Atlantica Hotels holds the master franchise agreement to develop Choice hotel products, including Comfort Inns, Comfort Suites, Clarions, Quality Inns, Quality Suites and Sleep Inns.
The company recently opened a toll-free reservation center in Santiago, Chile, and two additional centers, in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo, are scheduled to open early this year.
Other hotel companies developing Latin America include:<ul>
<li>Best Western International opened five four-star hotels last year in Chile, bringing the total in the country to 11 and making Chile the second largest Latin American market for Best Western, behind Brazil.
The new Chilean additions include the Best Western Hotel Marina Del Rey in Vina Del Mar, Hotel Cabanas Del Lago in the high part of Puerto Varas, Hotel Don Luis in downtown Puerto Montt, Hotel Naguilan in Valdivia and the Hotel Alborada in Concepcion.
The first Best Western Chile Inn in Bogota, Colombia, recently opened and adjoins the business and La Rosa districts.
<li>Barceló Hotels last month also began its expansion in Colombia with the incorporation of three new properties in its chain. The new properties include Barceló Egina Aparthotel & Suites, Barceló Le Manoir Hotel & Suites and Barceló Egina II Aparthotel & Suites.
<li>Spain-based Sol Melia has opened its first hotel in Guatemala City. The 194-room Melia Guatemala Spa & Convention Center was formerly the Hotel Las Americas.</ul>
<CENTER><B>Suites, Biz Rooms Arrive</B></CENTER>
The suite hotel, with all the popular amenities and services familiar to travelers in North America still is a relatively new concept in Latin America. "Business travelers tend to take the limited-service hotel concept for granted in the United States and elsewhere in the world," said Paul J. Sistare, president and CEO of Choice Atlantica Hotels. "In Latin America, however, lodging has been traditionally limited to expensive full-service independent or chain hotels, or somewhat unpredictable smaller hotels," he added.
But due to Latin America's increased business travel and steady tourist traffic, booking first class guestrooms recently has become more challenging, said Antonio Torres, regional director for Inter-Continental Hotels in Brazil. Because of this demand, Business Rooms--already successful in Inter-Continental's North American properties--recently were introduced.
The Hotel Inter-Continental Sao Paulo was the first Inter-Continental property in Latin America to offer this product. And over the past six months, the Tamanaco Inter-Continental in Caracas, Teqendama Inter-Continental in Bogota, Hotel Inter-Continental Medellin and the Hotel Inter-Continental Buenos Aires also introduced their business rooms.
Business Rooms contain virtually everything found in an office, from staplers, notepads, scissors and paper clips to coffee makers and complimentary coffee, as well as voicemail service with two-line telephones and ergonomic chairs.
The chain is allocating 5 percent of each of its 18 Latin American hotels' guestroom inventory to these state-of-the-art business rooms to be phased in this year.