MEDELLIN, Colombia—Marriott International is making key moves in the Caribbean and Latin America, where its success hinges on understanding the intricacies of individual countries and regions, then finding the right brand fit, said Victor Vazquez, regional VP for Marriott.
Speaking to Hotel News Now during a break at the recent South America Hotel Investment Conference, Vazquez broke down Marriott’s activities and opportunities in the Caribbean and Latin America by region and brand.
Regional opportunities
Vazquez pointed to overarching political and economic trends affecting various regions and countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as other factors that contribute to overall business ease.
“Mexico we consider a region in itself because of its sheer size,” he said. “The region is solid; there’s financing. You have a lot of growth in resorts, but then you also have tertiary cities in Mexico that are growing. It’s stable.”
The Caribbean collectively is another region Marriott is positive about, Vazquez said.
“It’s doing really well in terms of luxury resorts, and we’ve been able to expand aggressively … especially in luxury and full-service resorts,” he said. “It can be difficult to develop in the Caribbean, but we keep doing it.”
Brazil a complicated country to develop in, but Marriott is willing to put in the work and having success with it, he said.
“One learning we’ve had in the last few years is that many have had to break their own rules to get into Brazil,” he said. “Marriott is figuring out a way finally to get into that country successfully and continue to expand. Brazil is one of those countries, like India, where it’s big enough that it can force companies to adapt to them, in a way.”
He expanded on some of those peculiarities: “What works outside of Brazil doesn’t work inside Brazil,” he said. “They have a different taxation system; projects (take longer); there’s no project financing. Companies need to recognize they need to change to get into Brazil and then learn from the success of the small projects.”
Vazquez said he would classify Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala in “a separate bag of countries where the company doesn’t need to change, but the company needs to find the right opportunity to get in,” he said.
He also acknowledged what he called the “third bag” of countries: “Venezuela, Argentina, Nicaragua and El Salvador—those countries we’d all like to be in, but are pretty impossible to get into now,” he said. “If they’re not hit by a political situation, it’s something else.”
Despite those obstacles, opportunities can present themselves, he said. Marriott signed three Tribute Portfolio hotels in Argentina recently, and is opening a Sheraton in Buenos Aires—moves Vazquez called “breakthroughs.”
Marriott currently has more than 240 hotels open in the Caribbean and Latin America, and more than 110 expected to open by the end of 2023, including more than 50 select-service hotels.
Brand highlights
Marriott’s select-service lifestyle brand Moxy has four signed deals in the Caribbean and Latin America, Vazquez noted. During the conference, Marriott announced the signing of the 165-room Moxy Hotels property in Medellín.
“A brand like Moxy, if it’s correctly understood and packaged, it has every single reason to succeed in this region,” he said. “It’s cost-effective, it’s sexy, it’s innovative, it’s adaptable to airports, city centers, urban centers—it offers all the right elements to make a very successful story in the region.”
He also cited Four Points by Sheraton and Courtyard by Marriott as brands with great potential and footprint in the region.
On the full-service side, Vazquez said Marriott has many high-profile, high-end properties across the region, but there’s still room for more.
“We have a couple remarkable Westins in the region,” he said, adding that the company is in the market for more core Marriott-branded hotels.
“We need a magnificent one in Buenos Aires,” he said. “We would love to be in São Paulo, and other cities in Brazil.”
Vazquez spent a lot of time talking about Sheraton’s presence in the region, particularly as the brand goes through some changes. Recent renovations to the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center are now complete, and Vazquez said that property reflects a good opportunity in a good location for the brand.
“Sheraton is going through a reinvention, which is part of a normal cycle … because the company knows clients change and needs change,” he said. “It’s an incredibly powerful brand in Asia, and when you look at all the Chinese coming into (Latin America and the Caribbean), one of the first things they’ll think about is Sheraton. The association we have with the brand is powerful and Marriott was able to smartly identify (what needed changing).”
Vazquez said the AC by Marriott brand also has legs in the region, particularly in Argentina, given the company’s European heritage. W Hotels also has good exposure, he said, noting the W Punta de Mita in Mexico and the forthcoming W Costa Rica, Reserva Conchal.
Chile, particularly Santiago, has become a “showcase” for Marriott brands, Vazquez said.
“We have a signed Westin; we have the (AC Hotel by Marriott Santiago Costanera Center); Fairfield Inn is coming to Chile. Four Points is already there, as are Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton.”
In all, 19 of Marriott’s 30 hotel brands are represented in the Latin America and Caribbean region, and Vazquez said demand is changing in the region in positive ways, particularly driven by more low-cost airlines.
“That changes the spectrum completely,” he said. “The concept of having strong representation in key gateway cities is key, but we need to follow the trends of countries becoming more and more competitive and connected when it comes to secondary markets. We can grow with them.”