With responsibility for 71 hotels (and growing) in 13 countries in Latin America, Trip Barrett, Starwood’s vice president of brand management, seems pretty unflappable.
He is on the road at least two weeks each month and says his home address should be listed as “American Airlines lounge, any airport, anywhere.”
He knows the opening dates and construction timeline of dozens of Starwood-branded properties across his region, which is home to some 15,000 guestrooms of Starwood brands.
Barrett and Starwood are bullish on Latin America.
Eight hotels opened in the region last year; two have opened this year, with two more will follow.
More are in the pipeline and under development, and there seems to be no end in sight as demand accelerates for high-caliber brands in growth markets such as Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama and Peru.
Barrett emphasized that agents are a key factor in Starwood’s success in the region.
“We rely heavily on agents,” he said. “Many of our guests want a tailored experience, and agents deliver on that.”
Leading Starwood’s growth in Latin America in 2011 and 2012 is Westin Hotels, with 12 properties, including the Westin Guadalajara, which opened in April as the seventh Westin in Mexico.
Coming up in November is the opening of the Westin Panama in Panama City, a sister property to the Westin Playa Bonita, which opened last year on the outskirts of the city.
“Westin had been a resort-only brand, but now we offer a product mix of city hotels and resorts in this region,” Barrett said.
In addition, Westin launched Starwood’s entry into the all-inclusive market with the debut of its Playa Conchal Resort & Spa in Costa Rica in 2011.
Starwood’s other brands are well represented in the region and include six Sheratons in Mexico and 23 in Central and South America, including the new Sheraton Bijao Beach Resort in Santa Clara, Panama, and its city property in Panama City.
Another Sheraton is slated to open in Tucuman, Argentina, in November; in Cartagena, Colombia, in 2013; and in Recife, Brazil, in 2014.
Starwood’s W brand will debut a second Mexico City property as well as resorts in Bogota, the Riviera Maya and Panama between 2014 and 2016.
Starwood debuted its Aloft brand in Latin America with the Aloft Bogota Airport last December and the Aloft Costa Rica in San Jose in February. A Panama City property will open in 2013.
It welcomed its 10th Luxury Collection hotel in the region last year with the Villarica Park Lake Hotel & Spa in southern Chile.
Adding to the St. Regis brand, currently in Punta Mita and Mexico City, will be the St. Regis Kanai Resort and the Buenos Aires St. Regis in 2014.
“The meetings business is bouncing back, and the wedding market is strong,” Barrett said. “Mexico offers great diversity in culture, food and history.
There’s good airlift from South America, but there’s a need to grow lift from the U.S.”
Follow Gay Nagle Myers on Twitter @gnmtravelweekly.