Although the recovery of the hotel sector has still been limited by a reduced demand, especially in some markets of the business segment, the plans of the Radisson Hotel Group in Mexico point to the long term. From having seven complexes, the US chain plans to have up to 70 hotels in Mexico in the long term, both in vacation destinations and urban markets, such as Mexico City.
The company has had a presence in Mexico for 33 years, beginning with the opening of the Radisson Paraíso Hotel Mexico City complex. To this have been added five more hotels of the Radisson brand, and one of the Park Inn by Radisson brand. In addition, to date it has 246 rooms under development, 150 for a complex of its homonymous brand, and 96 more for a new brand, Radisson Blu.
However, the company sees more potential in this market. Alex Mai, vice president of franchise, sales and development for Radisson Hotel Group Americas in Mexico, assures that the goal is to have 70 hotels within five to seven years, with an emphasis on the country’s capital.
“Seven hotels is not the number of an international category brand like ours,” explains the manager in an interview. “We want growth with more units in Mexico City (…) in corridors such as Reforma, Polanco, Condesa and Santa Fe.”
Within this strategy, Mai says that the first two years will have a focus on hotel conversion, especially in the boutique segment, which has rebounded in the last couple of years as part of a strategy that has become widespread in the sector. .
In this category, Radisson seeks to place brands such as Radisson Blu and Radisson Collection, which cater to business and luxury markets. In addition, the introduction of Radisson Inn & Suites, a limited-service upper-middle range and a recent foray into the region, is also contemplated.
“It is considered a sister brand to Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, which has been a success in the United States with more than 600 hotels. However, we have nothing in Latin America,” he explains.
The potential markets
In addition to Mexico City, Radisson sees in metropolises like Monterrey a market opportunity triggered by what it considers a decentralization of air traffic from the capital, which allows it to have a greater presence near the United States.
In the vacation segment, the opportunity is in the Magical Towns, where the company is already evaluating some conversion options in regions such as San Miguel de Allende, without losing sight of other higher-volume markets, such as Cancun, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán.
Regarding new developments, the board considers it a priority to continue with an analysis of both its potential location and the type of interested investors, since it is an analysis that must be done together to define the type of hotel that will be built.
“They must be strategically positioned in places with high demand, they can be all-inclusive resorts or European plans. It will be the area where we see it grow the most,” he concluded.
