Can you provide us with some of the background information on why the investment in this hotel and why now?
It is part of the strategy of Grupo Poma, to have at least one five- star hotel in each of the most important cities of Central America. This is done because normally the business people in Central America are the same ones that are working in Panama, or doing business in Guatemala, Costa Rico, Salvador, or Honduras. So the idea was to have a Corridor, beginning in Miami and Panama. At this moment we do not have any hotels in Panama as a property, but we have a commercial agreement with the Intercontinental Panama Miramar. It is a part of the strategy, why this moment? Maybe it is not the best moment for Guatemala to invest, but there was an opportunity with this building, the building was incomplete in construction because of initial problems with the last owner. The moment that it was part of a strategy it was perhaps not the best moment to invest, but we needed to build a hotel, to complete the last part of the strategy. Last year we opened five hotels, one in Miami, the concord airport in San Salvador, the Managua hotel, and the Delta hotel. We needed this hotel, the country, the city, so we decided to do this.
You created a lot of awareness with publicity, during the opening people came from all over the region, that was a huge impact. Is this hotel a flag- ship of how you work in the rest of the region?
We try to be. It is not the biggest hotel in the company, but if you see Guatemala, is does not have the strongest economy, but it is the biggest in Central America. We feel, that we built this hotel as a flag, that way, we can produce synergies towards the rest of the hotels of the company, i.e. Honduras Costa Rica, San Salvador, Miami.
We all know that Miami is the gateway for the capital of the whole region; you already have that area covered. With the regional integration process, is this where you plan to capitalize?
I think that is the way. In Miami, most big Central and South American companies have their main offices. Because of this matter, it was a must to have the hotel built there. That way we can easily attract the business of this company in Miami to capitalize. In this moment the idea is to continuing growing in Central America, but if there is a good business opportunity in Peru, Bolivia, they could always go there. Right now they are looking at some business plans in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. It is a great company, that thinks in long- term investment and not short- term investments, which is very important. For example, we in this country, this city, for this hotel, feel it is important to think of long- term investments because of the economy of the country, and the competition. We cannot think only short term.
What does it mean having Intercontinental here? We know that the other hotels in the country are anxious about the Inter-continentals arrival to Guatemala..
They were worried because of the city, the amount of business taking place is decreasing instead of increasing. We have something else as a group, as a company, we have a hotel in the capital of a big city in central America, we can manage a regional contract with all the companies. You can sign a contract with us, or with the group and because of our synergies, we are the same owners in each city, it is better to do business with us, You are only dealing with one owner, you are not dealing with ten different owners. That is what Marriott, Camino Real etc fear. | This country is suffering economically and politically. But it is very interesting, 35 million potential central Americans, you have the largest economy, huge infrastructure developments. Telecom, the four major players are here, the energy sector with major plans, there is a lot of local investment available, things are really taking a leap forward. What are you expectations for the next five years and where does the Intercontinental fit in that role?
I think that the problem is evident with tourism in Guatemala, because as you can see we have more than Costa Rica, and Costa Rica is already in Eco-tourism in the world. This is because they do very good marketing, or they had a very good strategic marketing plan for a long period. The fact is, that in Guatemala, instead of all of us working on one idea, each hotel and organization work separately. I believe that Guatemala has a lot of things to show for.
Guatemala goes hand in hand with Egypt, Tibet, as a country still preserving its beauty on the contrary to other countries that try to get too modern, because this is the appeal.
We are still very young in the negotiation of this, this is something that is still in the works. I think the problem that we have, is the same any country in the world has. We do not have more but we do not have less either.
What do you think is the image of Intercontinental as it enters the Guatemalan market and the image globally of the company?
It is a group of people that really believe that Guatemala is a beautiful place. We are all about believing in Central America and believing in Guatemala. The image of Intercontinental in this moment is the strongest in Central America more than any other. Marriott is going in that direction, but they are a bit delayed, they are already in Costa Rica, Salvador, and here. Yet there are not in Panama, Honduras, they are in Miami. Our image worldwide is that we are the strongest company in Central America.
Are you active in the process of the promotion of the hotel here?
Active not really, the main person is our sales and marketing director. He has been more active than I. I am working more on the operation and solving the problems that all the hotels have. I think I need to be more oriented in resolving the problems we have as a company. I have to guarantee that the work is being done. We cannot sell an image outside that we cannot guarantee inside. I think, at this present moment, this is my job, it is my target.
What are your expectations as general manger of the hotel?
My goal is for us to be the leaders in the market in Guatemala, that is our target. As a group, as an individual, and as part of the group, we have to aim to be the leader of the tourism industry by the end of the year.
As you know, our readers are top executives worldwide. What would be your message to this audience od potential clients?
I think that the only attitude one should have is to really believe in something. We cannot wait around whilst others invest in the country, we have to believe in the region. The only way for the region to grow is by investment.
NOTE: Forbes Global/ World Investment News Ltd cannot be held responsible for the content in unedited transcriptions. |
