CORAL GABLES, Florida — Hilton saw record expansion in the Caribbean and Latin America region in 2025.
“It has set a momentum for us to continue that path moving forward,” said Pablo Maturana, Hilton's vice president of development and architecture, construction and design for the Caribbean and Latin America, in an interview at the American Lodging Investment Summit CALA.
Hilton crossed the threshold of having more than 300 hotels open in the region, he said. On top of that, Hilton has more than 150 hotels under design and construction as well. Both are signs of success for the company's multi-brand approach to the Caribbean and Latin America, he said.
Among its milestones last year, Hilton debuted its Tru by Hilton brand in Chile and introduced its first Hilton hotel in the U.S. Virgin Islands with the Hampton by Hilton St. Thomas. The Spark by Hilton brand is also now a player in CALA.
From a new deals standpoint, Hilton has had a strong year, particularly on the luxury side, Maturana said. Hilton opened the Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique, and it has approved four hotels under its luxury brands as it continues to grow through its partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World. There’s the Waldorf Astoria Turks and Caicos, a Conrad by Hilton in Nima, a Conrad by Hilton in Monterrey and an LXR in Costa Rica.
Hilton has also started construction of the Waldorf Astoria property San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, he added.
During the first quarter of this year, Hilton has opened five hotels in CALA, “proving the point that what we have done over this year has set up for continuous growth throughout the continent,” he said.
The CALA region is important to Hilton in part because that’s where the company’s global expansion started, Maturana said. In 1949, the first hotel Hilton opened outside of the mainland U.S. was the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“Since then, I would say that the Caribbean and Latin America have always played a strategic role in our expansion efforts,” he said.
The Caribbean and Latin America comprises multiple different markets, each with their own growth and demand drivers, Maturana said. That means one solution doesn’t fit all situations, so that’s why Hilton uses a multi-brand approach to pair the right brand with the right market with the right partner.
People tend to talk about CALA as one unified area when it’s a multi-country region with different needs, he said. To succeed, a hotel company needs to divide its approach geographically to capture all the opportunities. The bottom line is that with a region that has around 650 million to 700 million people, there’s a lot of potential, he added.
Hilton is investing in Brazil and Mexico as they are the largest markets in Latin America geographically, Maturana said. They have a tremendous amount of opportunity because of the depth of their hotel demand drivers, their connectivity and their growing middle class and domestic markets.
“That obviously creates a platform for us to continue growing from a geographic perspective and capitalizing opportunities throughout the Caribbean, throughout Central America, and the Andean region,” he said.
From a segment perspective, the shorter-term growth will come from focused-service and full-service hotels while Hilton eyes deliberate growth in the resort and luxury space, Maturana said. The all-inclusive space, where Hilton has operated for a while, is creating potential for continued growth.
“If you couple all-inclusives with good distribution systems, et cetera, it is an accelerator of growth for us in the Caribbean and Latin America,” he said.
But the strategy with all-inclusive resorts isn’t simple, Maturana said. It’s about filling in gaps between distribution and commercial marketing as well as differentiating oneself and having operational expertise.
“It is a competitive environment, but also it is an environment where, when you are able to differentiate yourself from a product perspective, from an operational expert perspective, there's great opportunities for a brand like Hilton,” he said.
The network effect generates awareness of the brand in the region, making customers more familiar with Hilton if they travel to other parts of the globe as well.
“It’s almost like a disproportionate benefit from the actual growth we’re seeing in the region,” he said.
Hotel owners in the Caribbean and Latin America are telling Hilton they’re seeing the benefits from the distribution system and a lower cost of guest acquisition, Maturana said. Having the different brands available gives owners the flexibility they need to adapt to market conditions. At the same time, having operations at the local level allows them to cater to the needs of their guests.
Overall, this approach has proven to drive cash-on-cash returns on hotel owners' investments, Maturana said.
“We always measure what we're doing, and don't get me wrong, market share is important, but as important as market share is, [so is] building the relationships,” he said. “Building those relationships, when they will repeat it, proves that you're having the right type of growth in in the region, and we're seeing a lot of repeat owners.”
Hilton is seeing some traction with hotel conversion opportunities, Maturana said. Along with using its conversion-oriented brands that are more nimble and agile, such as Curio Collection or Tapestry Collection, it’s also finding success with some of its brands in higher segments, such as DoubleTree by Hilton.
Although the hotel development environment is challenging, Hilton is seeing a lot of new construction come to the market, he said. At a global level, one in every five hotel rooms under construction carries a Hilton brand. It’s also the brand with the most hotels under construction currently.
The growth Hilton has achieved and is achieving in the Caribbean and Latin America is done by leveraging its local team and local expertise, Maturana said.
“When you look at our developer, our development team is all built on people from the region with expertise in the region,” he said. “The same occurs when you go to the architectural design and construction team.
“People from the region with experience throughout the region who are also based in the region, therefore are constantly looking at these opportunities for growth,” he said.