With an investment of $327 million, eleven new hotel projects are to be incorporated into the country's tourism sector.
Data provided by the Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur) reveals that the departments which have attracted most of the investment in the construction of new hotels are Managua, León, Chinandega and Rivas.
One example of the large investments in hotels can be found in the Nicaraguan Pacific, where $250 million has been invested in building the largest hotel project in the country. "The first stage includes the boutique hotel Mukul, which has 39 rooms, 16 beach villas and 23 mountain huts, built on 1,600 acres (about 650 hectares), with an investment of $150 million," noted an article in Elnuevodiario.com.ni.
There are currently 812 hotels registered offering a total of 18,500 beds in 11,200 rooms, which in 2012 had an occupancy rate of 66%.
A total of 432 new hotels were built between 2006 and 2012, representing an increase of 113.6%. At the end of 2012, the country had 11,189 rooms.
Data provided by the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN) reveals that last year (2012) occupancy rates in the country were 66% ."Before we did not know much about the hotel industry, with all this support we can see that the hotels that are emerging are characterized by customer services, the attention, the measurements of the rooms, meals, in short, I think it has improved a lot," said Sandra Mejia , president of the Association of Small Hotels of Nicaragua (Hopen).
There is a growing trend among hotel chains to buy international franchises in order to improve their management.
For example, in Costa Rica, the Ramada Herradura changed its name to Wyndham Herradura following an investment of $1 million last December. In 2011, the Gran Hotel Costa Rica transformed its brand, changing its name to Gran Hotel Costa Rica Ascend Collection.
The hotel chain InterContinental Hotels Group announced the signing of two contracts for Holiday Inn Express hotels in Managua and Tegucigalpa respectively.
In total the two properties represent an increase of 220 rooms for the Holiday Inn brand family in Latin America and the Caribbean, where there are currently 18 Holiday Inn Express hotels and 24 Holiday Inn hotels.
During the first quarter, the Intur approved tourism incentives for the purchase of aircraft and three hotel projects.
"Between January and March this year, the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (Intur) approved $20.5 million for tourism incentives for small and medium businesses, and expects to increase that amount to more than $51 million at the end of the first half of 2013 ", reported Laprensa.com.ni.
The 2013 edition of Expotur is to receive 180 representatives from international companies at the Hotel Wyndham San Jose Herradura on the 9th and 10th of May.
A statement from the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (ACOPROT) reads:
Country's Main Tourism Exchange Market Prepares its XXIX Edition
- From 9th to 11th the 29th edition of Expotur will be held at the Convention Center at the Hotel Wyndham San Jose Herradura.
During the meeting of small hotels which is taking place in Costa Rica, representatives from 17 countries will sign the formation of an Inter American Network.
A statement from the National Network of Small Hotels (REDNAPH) reads:
Today will see the creation of the Inter-American Network of Small Hotels, as part of the First Meeting of Small Hotels in America and the Caribbean.
Central America is in the lead with a 34% average price growth of hotel reservations recorded in the region, while in North America it was 18% and in South America 14%.
From the Transhotel-HOSTELTUR Barometer published by Hosteltur:
The average price of hotel reservations in America during the first quarter of this year was $680, representing an increase of 20% according to the first edition of "Transhotel-HOSTELTUR".
From 18th to 20th June, the Foodservice Expo will be held in the Pedregal Event Center in Costa Rica.
From information published by Expo Hotels & Restaurants (Exphore):
The Expo Hotels and Restaurants (Exphore), has become the best choice for suppliers and customers to meet in Central America.
Exphore, the exhibition which brings together providers in the hospitality sector in Costa Rica and Central America, will hold its 13th edition with a growth of 30%, ensuring that visitors will find even more products and business opportunities.
On 18th and 19th of April Latin American small hoteliers in Costa Rica will meet to discuss issues such as competitiveness, promotion and marketing, and accommodation in small centers.
"Owners of small hotels in the Latin American region with a minimum of five rooms and a maximum of 50 will gather together on 18th and 19th of April at the Hotel Radisson Zurquí in Barrio Tournon," reported Elfinancierocr.com.
The mandatory stop at reception is being eliminated in favor of computerized registration and welcome processes.
This is what happens for example in small boutique hotels in Amsterdam, London and Glasgow, Scotland, where guests check in at a kiosk and go directly to their rooms, only stopping to talk to a hotel clerk if they have any questions. In other cases, guests make reservations online, by e-mail in order to get their room allocation and the key code.
The hotel chain La Quinta has announced an agreement with the Honduran Grupo Santos to open eight hotels in the region, starting with an establishment in Tegucigalpa, to open in 2014.
San Pedro Sula, Comayagua, Choluteca, and Roatan are other Honduran cities where La Quinta plans to have hotels.
The capital of Nicaragua, Panama and Guatemala are also on the list of cities which will have establishments belonging to the U.S. network.
With an investment of $48 million, three new hotels will be built in Nicaragua, adding 500 rooms.
Along with construction of the Whyndam Milagro del Mar, launched on Thursday, February 21, the 145-room Hyatt Place and a new 105 room Holiday Inn will also be built.
These investments are in addition to the Guacalito Island project, which was recently opened.
The Wyndham Milagro del Mar Resort will offer 212 rooms on the Nicaraguan Pacific coast in San Diego beach, in Villa El Carmen.
The property will be developed by HB International, and its opening is planned for next year.
This will be the first Wyndham hotel in Nicaragua and its opening is scheduled for 2014, generating nearly 300 local jobs and becoming an anchor project in the Gran Pacifica resort, covering 1,440 hectares with more than four kilometers of beach.
Growing tourism means that at least 1,000 hotel rooms need to be added to the inventory in each of the coming years.
Although Nicaragua currently receives the least amount of foreign exchange from tourism of all the Central American countries, growth projections, which indicate that in 2013 1.3 million tourists will arrive, have exposed its shortcomings in terms of hotel infrastructure.