Hotel groups have been putting Mexico at the top of their list of priorities recently. Marriott, in particular, has just taken a major step forward by finalising the acquisition of Hoteles City Express, one of the leading local players in the mid-range hotel sector. Announced at the end of last yearWith this operation, the Group is now present in 75 cities across the country, with more than 150 hotels divided into five sub-brands: City Express, City Express Plus, City Express Suites, City Express Junior and City Centro. All these hotels will now be integrated under a new banner, City Express by Marriottthe 31st for the American group.
Thanks to this operation, Marriott International is not only taking a major step forward in Mexico, but is becoming de facto the region's largest hotel operatorLatin America and the Caribbean combined, with more than 480 establishments in 37 countries. The attractiveness of this mid-range offering to Latin American travellers and the presence of City Express in Costa Rica, Colombia and Chile augur well for further developments in the future. " We see a significant opportunity to expand the City Express brand in the region as well as in other locations." said Brian King, President of Marriott International for the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA).
For its part, the Hilton group, which celebrated the opening of its 200e hotel in the CALA region with the Waldorf Astoria Cancun, also testifies to its growing interest in the destination. With almost 90 hotels in Mexico, the group intends to add another 25, all of which are currently under development. In this context, alongside new top-of-the-range resorts, the American group is also counting on the development of low-cost urban hotels with the recent appearance of its new brands Motto in Mexico City and Tru in Mexico City and Monterrey. Monterrey, the country's major economic and university centre, has also just seen the opening of a new 225-room Hilton hotel with a business focus and over 1,100 square metres of meeting space, including the Magnolia room, one of the city's largest ballrooms with a capacity of 630 people in theatre format.
Another major business hotel, the Hyatt Regency Mexico City Insurgentes opened its doors at the end of April. After launching its lifestyle brand Andaz at the beginning of the year in the arty Condesa district, the Hyatt group has proceeded to a second major inauguration in the Mexican capital with this 201-room hotel in the Colonia del Valle business district. Next door to the World Trade Center Mexico City and its convention centre, the hotel devotes 460 square metres to meetings and events in seven multi-purpose rooms.
As the brand's second property after the Hyatt Regency Mexico City, this new hotel is part of the expansion of the Hyatt brands in Mexico. A country where the American group aims toincrease its offering by 30 % by 2025. This growth will come from the main leisure destinations, with the Grand Hyatt Cancun Beach Resort, the Park Hyatt Los Cabos at Cabo del Sol and the all-inclusive Secrets Tulum Resort & Beach Club among the hotels expected to open in 2024. " Hyatt's continued expansion in Mexico will provide more upscale and luxury options in resort and urban markets" said Camilo Bolanos, the Group's Senior Vice-President for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For example, the American hotelier has set up for the first time in San Luis Potosione of the main cities in the centre of the country. Known for its cathedral and its importance in the automotive and mining sectors, since March this year the city has been home to a 134-room Hyatt Regency with a MICE epsace of over 1,000 m² and a theatre seating 400 people. In Monterrey, after a Hyatt House/Hyatt Place combo opened at the end of last year in a complex combining offices and shops, Hyatt is preparing for the arrival of its Thompson luxury and lifestyle brand in 2025. As for the capital, Mexico City, it will be home to a luxurious Park Hyatt by 2024-2025.
But it's not just American groups that are exploiting the potential for growth in Central America's largest market. At the end of 2023, Accor to open a fourth Novotel in the heart of the capital, the Novotel Mexico City Centro Historico. This opening follows on from a luxurious lifestyle Mondrian inaugurated in December 2022 and, a little earlier, another Novotel, the Novotel Mexico City World Trade Center, located opposite this key location for business travellers in the Mexican capital.
