WHY IT RATES: BlueBay's plans mean the chain will have a bigger presence in Latin America and the Caribbean, providing more accommodation choices at the region's hottest locations for agents and vacationers. -Michael Isenbek, TravelPulse Senior Editor
BlueBay Hotels, the 11th largest Spanish hotel chain in terms of the number of rooms, has taken part in the Cancun Travel Mart again this year, consolidating its presence in Latin America and the Caribbean as strategic destinations and with Mexico, Colombia and Brazil as important pieces for the group's growth.
"Our 2017-2020 strategic plan to promote the company's international expansion aims to increase our hotel offering by close to 50 percent, meaning we'll have more than 60 hotels and double the number of beds. This project also envisages consolidating our presence in a growing and ever evolving market like Mexico," said Jamal Satli Iglesias, Chairman of BlueBay Hotels.
To mark the Cancun Travel Mart (CTM), one of the leading professional fairs in Mexico, Bluebay Hotels held its annual meeting with representatives from the tourism sector operating in the country and organized the BlueBay Moet & Chandon party at its luxurious facilities in the Blue Diamond Riviera Maya. Company managers and directors celebrated another successful year for the hotel chain and took the opportunity to analyze the latest trends in the market with industry members.
"Tourism is a very dynamic sector. By examining the most recent trends in these markets with our strategic partners, we get to know in advance the factors that may influence the evolution of the new season, so that we can optimize and maximize them," added Iglesias.
BlueBay Hotels entered the Mexican market in 2010, and currently has 21 percent of its staff working there, although in terms of the number of beds it accounts for approximately 12 percent of the company's total. In 2015, more than 685,000 people stayed at BlueBay Hotels in Mexico, showing a 10 percent increase in growth compared to the previous year.
When examining the customer profile, the primary source markets are the United States, which depending on the hotel represent between 40 and 70 percent of the guests staying in any of the Spanish chain's hotels. Canada comes next with between 15 and 20 percent and then the Mexican market accounts for between 7 and 28 percent.
BlueBay Hotels currently has 42 hotels in 20 destinations with 23,000 beds in Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, the Middle East and North Africa. Twenty of these hotels are located in Spain, namely in the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Andalusia, Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid.
Bluebay Hotels aims to have 60 hotels operating in 30 different destinations, as included in the 2017-2020 strategic plan, which was recently unveiled by the Spanish company. This plan for growth includes increasing the number of hotels by close to 50 percent and more than doubling the number of beds to 50,000 at the end of this period, which will include hotels the chain owns and also others under its management.
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