January 15, 2015 
In This Week's Issue:

Marriott International's Plan to Double its Latin American Presence 

Craig S. Smith

Craig S. Smith, Marriott International's CEO for Latin America, is leading a regional expansion which will double the number of hotels in four years.

 

By Mark Chestnut, Latin Trade

  

When Craig S. Smith started working in Latin America about two decades ago, Marriott International took a very different approach to the region. In this exclusive Latin Trade interview, Smith - who is now Marriott's president for the Caribbean and Latin America - talks about the evolution of the hospitality industry and investment in Latin America, and his company's strategy for it.

 

How would you describe Marriott's approach to Latin America when you started in the region?

At that time we had only a few hotels, and it was really North America-centric. No one spoke Spanish and most of our business was Americans flying south. We were a very American company working in Latin America. During that time period it was still attached as a region for the United States. I left in 2003 and went to Asia for 10 years.

 

You started a new team focused on Latin America less than two years ago. What made Marriott change its strategy?

Our CEO Arne Sorenson is very progressive. He realized our biggest growth potential was Latin America. They decided to make a region solely focused on Latin America. One of the first things we did was start to form a team - and you had to be bilingual, if not trilingual.

 

How would you describe the benefits of Marriott International's current approach?

We feel that's one of our competitive advantages. We're designing hotels that are for Latin travelers. [We have] Marriott.com in Spanish, Portuguese. We've perfected our Spanish channels and our Portuguese channels. You see a lot more business intra-Latin America.

 

What physical changes came along with the new approach?

Our development office was located in D.C. We moved it to Miami. Our team all speaks Spanish - even our interior decorators.

 

And you have rather extensive growth plans for Latin America.

People think we're ambitious when we say that in four years we're going to double [our Latin America presence]. I don't think so. There's a lot of opportunity.

 

How will you take advantage of these opportunities?

We're trying to localize more of the team. [Members of] our development team in Brazil are all Brazilians. Our area VP who covers Brazil has lived there for 15 years. You need people who know the markets.

 

Brazil is clearly a priority for you. Where else?

The two biggest growth engines are going to be Mexico and Brazil, just because of size. [Growth will be] led by Mexico. We call it MEMO - the Mexican Moment. The economy of Mexico is doing better. You've got a growing middle class that is now spending money on leisure and business travel. You've got factories that are moving back from Asia.

Also, the quality of work in Mexico is a lot better than in parts of Asia. And you have NAFTA, and the economy in the U.S. is growing, which means a lot more trade with Mexico. For us, it's a perfect storm. Mexico is booming from a hotel perspective. Most of our hotels in Mexico this year saw a 20% increase, year on year.

 

Craig S. Smith courtesy of Marriott International
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Delta

Delta, New York's JFK International Airport and Port Authority Unveil New Expansions in Terminal 4: Newest phase of expansion includes 11 additional gates, 75,000 square feet in Concourse B; Delta relocating many Delta Connection flights to Terminal 4

 

Business Travel News Readers Name Delta Top Airline: Voted highest in all 10 survey categories, Delta becomes the first airline to be ranked No. 1 by corporate travel managers four years in a row

 

Travel News

Aeromexico

New Airline Routes and Route Changes

Mexico and Central America

Aeromexico added a fifth daily direct flight between Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Mexico City's Benito Juárez International Airport.

 

International Connections

JetBlue will expand service between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and San Francisco International Airport, addinga fifth daily flight beginning February 20.

 

WestJet will add weekly nonstop service between CalgaryInternational Airport (Canada) and Loreto, Mexico on February 14.

 

Airline Alliance News

Brazil's Gol and Panama's Copa have formed an alliance to share routes as well as frequent-flyer programs. The airlines are still awaiting final regulatory approval of the agreement.

 

Condor Airlines and WestJet expanded their codeshare agreement with 29 additional destinations in Canada.

 

Ethiopian Airlines has begun a codeshare partnership with ANA (All Nippon Air), launching three-days-per-week service between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Tokyo's Narita Airport via Hong Kong.

 

Ethiopian Airlinesalso expanded codeshare coverage with Air India to include African routes via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and domestic routes in India.

 

Cathay Pacific and flyBe, a U.K.-based low-cost carrier, expanded their codeshare partnership to include service between the United Kingdom and Amsterdam, as well as between the U.K. and Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.

 

AerLingus expanded codeshare service with United, placing the El code on 14 new routes out of Chicago O'Hare.

 

Other Airline News

Avianca expects to introduce the new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on a January 16 flight between Bogota and New York-JFK, with further launches into Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo-Guarulhos, Santiago and Mexico City in February. It will add Dreamliner service to London Heathrow in July and Madrid in October.

 

AviancaTaca Holdings has acquired a 59% controlling stake in Chilean carrier Sky Airline.

JFK Terminal 4 Delta Sky Club

 

United launched Wi-Fi service in the first of its United Express regional jets and expects to outfit more than 200 more by mid-2015. United will also begin offering Personal Device Entertainment on regional jets this year.

 

Airport News

New York's JFK International Airport has added 11 new gates and 75,000 square feet to Terminal 4's Concourse B as part of Delta's $1.2 billion investment to enhance and expand the terminal. The new gates at Terminal 4 feature enclosed jet bridges, a flagship Sky Club and new restaurants, as well as a new JFK Jitney stop. Delta flights in Terminal 2 will also benefit via climate-controlled jet bridges, a renovated Sky Club, iPad stations and seven food and beverage concepts, fresh markets, coffee shops and concierge services.

 

Loyalty Program News

United Airlines is offering award bonus miles to customers who purchase first- and business-class tickets on flights through February 28.

 

Starwood Preferred Guest members can earn double points for second and subsequent nights, plus 1,000 bonus points after every five nights (up to 4,000 bonus points) at participating hotels, through April 15.

 

Carlson Club members can earn 15,000 bonus points on two-night stays and 30,000 bonus points on stays of three nights or longer at Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites hotels through March 29.

 

Hotel News

The Bahamas Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Tourism has replaced the nation's 10% hotel tax with a 7.5% value added tax on hotel and home rental; the VAT also applies to services purchased by hotel guests.

 

Magdaena Grand Beach & Golf Resort in Tobago launched an airport concierge service to assist guests traveling between Piarco Airport in Port of Spain, Trinidad and A.N.R. Robinson Airport in Tobago.

Marriott

 

Marriott International and the American Hotel & Lodging Association have filed a petition requesting permission to block some Wi-Fi hotspot networks in meeting spaces. In their request to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, they argue that blocking guests' personal wireless modems and Wi-Fi hotspots in meeting and public spaces is an effort to protect customers' Internet security. In October, the FCC fined Marriott for doing so. The petition has drawn opposition from companies including Google and Microsoft.

 

The Bahamas' Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, Rosewood at Baha Mar and SLS LUX at Baha Mar have set a public opening date of March 27. Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar will open shortly after. The Baha Mar property will total 2,200 luxury guest rooms and contain the Caribbean's largest casino, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, pools, beach experiences, restaurants and luxury shops.

 

Hotel Pipeline

Hilton Worldwide will partner with Live Nation to launch "Hilton at Play." Hilton will become Live Nation's "Official Hotel Partner" and will receive access to content from concert events, a digital media plan on Livenation.com and Ticketmaster.com and have its "where to stay" booking links integrated on venue pages. HHonors guests and members will have access to artist connections, sought-after concert tickets, meet and greets, sound checks and private hotel concert events.

 

The Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos will open in 2016 at Diamante Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a high-end resort community and site of El Cardonal, Tiger Woods Design's first golf course.

 

The 260-suite Villa la Valencia will break ground this winter in the corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. The property will include a reef-inspired pool, lazy river, four restaurants and a gym.

 

Aeromexico by GULF550; JFK Terminal 4 Delta Sky Club, courtesy of Delta Air Lines; Marriott by Bernard Gagnon via Wikimedia Commons
 
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