Hilton Hotels Corp. will quadruple its presence in the Caribbean and Latin America with 150 new hotels over the next five years, according to Steve Goldman, president of global development and real estate.
Hilton also has launched a new development structure, made up of six dedicated staff, to lead the efforts in its portfolio expansion and to help reach Hilton’s stated goal of adding 1,000 hotels to its international portfolio in 10 years.
"Expanding our global platform is a strategic priority for Hilton. We are focusing on accelerating the growth of our international management and franchise business by securing strategic development agreements and employing resources in international markets," Goldman said.
Hilton currently has 51 hotels throughout the Caribbean and Latin America and 42 in the pipeline.
The hotel company has identified a number of gateway cities and resort destinations for further growth of selected Hilton-owned brands.
Heading the Caribbean development efforts is Gregory Rockett, vice president of development for the Caribbean and Southeast U.S. Hilton has 13 hotels in the Caribbean and will add 17 more over the next five years.
Daniel Hughes, Hilton's senior vice president of operations for the Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America, said one of the goals is opening Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn hotels in commercial centers in San Juan, Trinidad and Nassau. Another area of growth will be luxury hotels and residences in mixed-use developments in markets such as the Turks & Caicos, the Lesser Antilles and the Bahamas.
Hilton Caribbean properties currently under development include the Conrad Bimini Bay Resort & Casino in the Bahamas; Hilton Bonaire; Hilton St. Maarten; Doubletree by Hilton San Juan in Puerto Rico; Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos; and the planned conversion of three LXR resorts in Puerto Rico.
Hilton's portfolio in Mexico includes 19 properties spanning most of its brands. Future development efforts will add 60 more hotels in the next five years, according to George Massa, senior director of development for Mexico, and Luis Alvarado, director of development for Mexico.
Growth is expected in Mexico's border cities as well as the central and southern regions, covering all 31 states and its Federal District.
Hilton has 20 hotels in the Mexico pipeline, including Homewood Suites hotels in Puebla and Monterrey as well as Hampton properties in Guadalajara, Ciudad Victoria, Centro Historico Ciudad de Mexico, Toluca, Queretaro, Los Cabos, Cancun, Guadalajara and Tulum.
Simon Suarez, chief development representative for Central America, said Hilton plans to add 23 properties to its current seven. Growth is expected in all of the region's capital cities as well as secondary markets such as Liberia, Costa Rica; David, Panama; and Leon, Nicaragua. Opportunities will be explored in the resort areas of Guanacaste, Costa Rica; Antigua, Guatemala; the Atlantic coast of Honduras and Belize; and the Pacific coast of El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Hilton opened three hotels and resorts this year in Costa Rica and has six in the Central America pipeline. The six include the Conrad Los Micos in Tela Bay, Honduras; Hilton San Jose, Costa Rica; Hilton Panama; Doubletree by Hilton Panama; Embassy Suites by Hilton San Jose, Costa Rica; Embassy Suites by Hilton Panama City; and Hilton Garden Inn Liberia Airport, Costa Rica.
In South America, Hilton has 12 properties with a goal toward opening 50 new hotels over the next five years. Brazil will be a key focus of Hilton's development activities in the region, due to the size and strength of the Brazilian economy, according to Cristian Goncalves, vice president of development.
Hilton's growth plans include Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Belo Horizone, Porto Alegre, Manaus, Recife and Goliana.
Seven properties in the pipeline include the Hilton Bariloche, Hilton Iguazu Resort and Hilton Ushuaia in Argentina; Hilton Salvador de Bahia, Brazil; Hilton Bogota, Colombia; Doubletree Guest Suites by Hilton in Paracas, Peru; and Embassy Suites by Hilton Valencia in Venezuela.