Meeting News - October 20, 2008 - (Page 16)

International Hilton Hotels plans to quadruple its presence in the Caribbean and Latin America by adding 150 properties over the next five years. The company currently has 51 properties in the region, with 42 more in the development pipeline, but it is looking to ramp up. “We are focusing on accelerating growth of our international management and franchise business,” said Steve Goldman, Hilton’s president of global development and real estate. Daniel Hughes, senior VP of operations for the Caribbean, Mexico, and Latin America, said Hilton is banking on success in the region through brand mixture. The comprehensive plan targets four areas: Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America. In the Caribbean, Hilton said growth will be through slotting “focused-service” brands Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn at commercial centers like San Juan, Trinidad, and Nassau, as well as through implementing luxury properties at high-end mixed-use developments in the Turks and Caicos, Lesser Antilles, and Bahamas. Already announced (among others): the conversion of three LXR resorts in Puerto Rico, the Conrad Bimini Bay Resort & Casino in the Bahamas, and the Hilton St. Maarten. In all, 17 properties will be introduced in the region through 2013. In Mexico, Hilton’s existing portfolio count is 19, and it will add 60 more throughout the country, covering large, capital, industrial, and border cities in 31 states. Hampton and Homewood Suites will be in play particularly; 20 now in the pipeline include Homewood hotels in Monterrey, and Hamptons in Guadalajara, Los Cabos, Cancun, and Tulum. Hilton’s strategy in the nascent Central American market, where it has seven hotels, will be to add 23 mostly Hampton and Hilton Garden Inn lodgings. The hotelier wants to forge alliances with local developers on multi-property deals in the region’s big locations, namely Liberia, Panama, Leon, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica—where it recently debuted three hotels and resorts. But there also are By William Ng william.ng@nielsen.com Hilton Gets Aggressive in the Caribbean and South America upper-end market developments: a Conrad in Honduras, a Doubletree in Panama, and an Embassy Suites in Costa Rica. Brazil, due to its “size and strength,” is the linchpin in Hilton’s South America eye. The company’s regional headquarters is in Sao Paulo, and it will focus on that city, plus Rio de Janeiro and secondary cities such as Brasilia. Hotels in gateways Buenos Aires, Santiago (Chile), Lima (Peru), Bogota (Colombia), and Caracas (Venezuela) are planned. There will be 50 introductions on the continent. Initially, development will be concentrated on Hilton Garden Inns and Doubletrees, in midmarket and conversion opportunities. Hilton introduced the latter brand in Central America earlier this year (in San Jose, Costa Rica, with 222 rooms and 10,000 sf of meeting space). Later this year, it will unveil the region’s first Hilton Garden Inn (169 rooms in Liberia, Costa Rica). Smith Travel: Hotel Occupancy Is In Decline Around the World The worldwide hotel industry is feeling the economic slump, as August occupancies fell in every world region, according to Smith Travel Research and STR Global. In the Americas, occupancy declined by 3.2 percent to finish at 67.8 percent. STR Global attributed the drop particularly to the Caribbean, where revenue per average room saw an 11-percent plunge. In Europe, occupancy fell 5.1 percent to 68.4 percent, and Asia finished at 64.9 percent occupancy after an 11-percent slide. Occupancy decline was most mild in the Middle East, at 0.5 percent. “While performance in each region is influenced by different factors, the worldwide economic slowdown has started to take its toll on the hospitality industry,” said James Chappell, managing director of STR Global, from London. As well, he said 2008’s yearto-date occupancies through August in each region aside from the Middle East and Africa (where occupancy has increased slightly) have been lower versus a year ago. MPI Has Three-City Workshop Series for International Planners Meeting Professionals International has announced a series of oneday workshops for American professionals who are planning meetings outside the U.S. The series, called Meetings Without Borders, will debut in November with a three-city tour that stops in Washington, DC, on Nov. 19, Chicago on Nov. 21, and San Francisco on Nov. 24. Meetings Without Borders workshops will focus on teaching the intricacies and logistics of planning events in foreign countries, and they will be led by seasoned international planners, who will share their experiences in terms of challenges and rewards. “According to FutureWatch 2008, MPI’s annual survey of meetings industry trends, one in five respondents expects their organization to extend their global reach in the coming year,” MPI president and CEO Bruce MacMillan said. “Meetings Without Borders equips meeting and event professionals to effectively respond to this growing trend.” For more information on the workshops—which are being sponsored in part by Conventions Australia, the Canadian Tourism Commission, Visit Scotland, and the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau—visit www.mpiweb.org. r —Matt Alderton 16 MeetingNews October 20, 2008 www.meetingnews.com http://www.mpiweb.org http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - October 20, 2008

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