By Mark Holston

An in-room kitchen, weekly rates and a spacious room designed for business travelers staying more than just a night or two - this defines the "extended stay" hotel. These suites (or, occasionally, large rooms) can include elegant and authentic décor and furnishings that make them strikingly different from a standard hotel room. More floor space is another selling point. Typically, such suites include separate sleeping, living and working areas and feature a small kitchen with a full-size refrigerator, oven and, often, dishwasher. Fitness and business centers round out the picture. Housekeeping is provided, and other conveniences include the availability of "grab-and-go" food items, such as sandwiches and salads. Rooms can be booked by the day or by the week.

This category of hotel has been growing quickly in the U.S. Later this month, when the new 100-room Homewood Suites by Hilton opens for business in the small U.S. city of Kalispell, Montana in the Pacific Northwest, it will join a family of some 325 properties across the U.S. And more will soon be coming online; Hilton Worldwide alone has another 25 Homewood Suites under construction and 60 more in the planning phase.

Extended Stay in Latin America and the Caribbean

In Latin America and the Caribbean, however, extended stay hotels have been slow to catch on, although many large cities have apartment hotels, which tend to have less-frequent housekeeping and less-flexible room rates. There are a considerable number of locally owned extended-stay facilities in Brazil - most of them former condominiums. Throughout the region, only a small handful of such properties are under the management of leading international brands.

Staybridge Suites Sao Paulo

Two such brands are in São Paulo: InterContinental Hotel Group's Staybridge Suites and Marriott's Executive Apartments. However, Staybridge Suites' only other location is in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Executive Apartments' only other location is in Panama City. Homewood Suites has just one property in the region, located in Torreón, Mexico's ninth largest metropolis and an important industrial city in the north-central part of the country. Another Hilton Worldwide brand, the newer and more limited Home2 Suites by Hilton, will open its first hotel in Mexico by the end of this year. The 100-suite facility is being built in Querétaro, a popular business and leisure travel destination located 135 miles northwest of Mexico City. Priced slightly lower than Homewood Suites and offering no countertop burner in its kitchen, Home2 Suites is described as a "mid-range" extended-stay option.

Salo Smaletz is the InterContinental Hotel Group's vice president for Development in Latin America. Based on what's he's observed in the several years the firm's Staybridge Suites has been in operation in São Paulo, about 85% of guests are there for business, while 10% are identified as "leisure" travelers and the remaining 5% are such regular clients as airlines crews on layovers. The typical occupancy is from three to four days, with the greatest concentration of client from Sunday to Thursday. Smaletz sees continual growth in the domestic market as business travel within Brazil increases.

Plans for New Properties Under Consideration

"São Paulo has been booming as a destination and the occupancy in general has been growing," Smaletz points out. "In the past five years, it is safe to say, our Staybridge Suites property has gained two to three occupancy points every year. It's now around the high 70s in terms of yearly occupancy."

The growth in occupancy rates has been steady enough to lead IHG to consider other projects in the region. "We are always looking for expansion in markets where there is a demand for long-stay products," Smaletz adds. "We are currently having discussions on a couple of opportunities in Brazil and we have a deal signed in Panama that should open in the next two years or so."

Delta Air Lines launches new service to San Jose and Liberia, Costa Rica - marks 15 years of uninterrupted service to that nation: Daily Los Angeles, California-San Jose, Costa Rica flights began July 1. 

U.S. Department of Transportation tentatively awards Delta Air Lines additional daily non-stop Atlanta - São Paulo flight; flight awaits final government approval and could start as early as Oct. 1. Second Detroit - São Paulo flight also awarded.

Latin American Health Care Compliance Certificate Program offered in October: The University of Miami's three-Day program helps industry professionals successfully navigate Latin America's increasingly complex health sector regulatory environment.

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By Mark Holston

Thanks to an organization that is unique in Latin America - El Circuito de Jazz de Colombia (The Colombian Jazz Circuit) - tens of thousands of Colombian jazz fans and foreign visitors have the unique opportunity to enjoy concerts by some of the world's most famous jazz and Latin musicians. Business travelers headed to this South American nation during early September should take advantage of the opportunity to attend one of these singular events, held in Bogota, Medellin, Barranquilla, Cali and Pasto.

Described by its organizers as a "strategic alliance," El Circuito de Jazz is designed to maximize the presence of singular global artists in the nation by making them available at more than just one venue. Collectively over 12 calendar days, the festivals present 38 international bands and 43 national groups involving more than 550 musicians. Close to 90,000 seats in various concert venues are available.

It's all spread out in six major festivals: The 24th International Teatro Libre Jazz Festival (Festival Internacional De Jazz Del Teatro Libre) and the 17th Jazz in the Park Festival (Festival Jazz Al Parque) in Bogotá, the 16th Medellín International Festival of Jazz and World Music (Festival Internacional Medellín De Jazz Y Músicas Del Mundo), Barranquilla's 16th Barranquijazz festival, Pastojazz in the city of Pasto and the 12th Ajazzgo Meeting of Jazz, Fusion and Experimental Creators (Encuentro De Creadores De Jazz, Fusión Y Experimental Ajazzgo) in Cali.

Barranquilla Takes Leadership Role

It's fitting that the Caribbean port of Barranquilla is one of the key players in this national jazz tradition; in 1921, it became the first city in Colombia to host a  

Barranquijazz

performance by a visiting jazz group. Since then, Colombia's fourth-largest city has been a leader in cultivating a strong jazz culture.

Barranquilla's festival, known as Barranquijazz, bills itself as "the most important jazz festival in Colombia and the Caribbean ("El Festival de Jazz más importante de Colombia y el Caribe"). Over the past 16 years, it has a distinguished history of presenting some of the most famous names in jazz, Latin and Brazilian music. The festival is largely the result of the passion of two jazz aficionados, local jazz radio host Antonio Caballero and publisher Samuel Minski, who both function as the festival's producers under the umbrella of their Fundación Cultural Nueva Música.

This year, Barranquijazz headliners will include Cuban woodwind virtuoso Paquito D'Rivera, Brazilian vocalist Rosa Passos, Puerto Rican flautist Néstor Torres, Italian clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi and Cuban salsa legend Issac Delgado, among many others.

Coordination Maximizes Benefits, Minimizes Costs

Putting the "economy of scale" concept to work, many of the international artists are booked in three or more festivals and are on the move to a new venue every day. Passos and D'Rivera, for instance, are featured at three and four festivals, respectively. And, for the first time in the history of the circuit, it has exported the concept to a neighboring nation, inviting the Venezuelan city of Barquisimeto into the family of complementary jazz festivals.

More information, including updated details on this year's programming and ticket availability at all six of the concurrent festivals, can be obtained at the organization's website, www.circuitodejazzcolombia.com.

Photos - Mark Holston