MEXICO CITY-As hotel investors are increasingly looking to Latin America for purchases and new developments, Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corp. has completed its buy of the Hotel Nikko Mexico from Japan-Mexico Hotel Investment Co. for $190 million. The property, which will be rebranded as Hyatt Regency Mexico City, is one of 20 properties the company will have open in Latin America by 2016 as an expansion into the region.
Steve Haggerty, global head of real estate and development for Hyatt, said in a statement that the local purchase is the first step in expanding the presence of the company’s hotels throughout South America. The firm plans to spend $40 million to renovate the local hotel, and will spend much more on 12 more new hotels in Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Panama, Columbia and Chile. The company already operates eight properties in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.
The four Hyatt’s currently under development in the region include the Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Andaz Papagayo and Hyatt Place San Jose Pinares in Costa Rica and Hyatt Place Panama City. Another eight agreements have been signed, the company said.
The eight new properties include six sites in Mexico, including the 232-unit Park Hyatt Los Cabos in Los Cabos (to open in 2015), the 220-room Park Hyatt Riviera Maya (2016) and the the 213-unit Andaz Mayakoba (2015) south of Cancun, the 332-room Hyatt Playa (2015) in Playa del Carmen, the 157-unit Hyatt Place San Jose del Cabo (2013) and the 144-room Hyatt Place Tijuana (2013). Also, the company has signed agreements for the 250-room/72-condo Hyatt Regency Cartagena (2015) in Columbia and the 160-unit Hyatt Place Vitacura (late 2012) in Santiago, Chile.
Latin America, particularly the resort areas of Mexico, is attracting a lot of hotel investor attention, according to the recent survey by Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle. Most respondents are bullish on Mexico City and the resort areas, though security issues remain a concern. “With a population of nearly 600 million, we expect the region’s hotel investment market to transform itself over the next decade,” said Clay Dickinson, EVP with JLL Hotels, in a statement about the report.
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