STARWOOD HOTELS INVESTS $20 MILLION IN MEXICAN HOTEL REFURBISHMENT
Source: Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, Inc/Mexico City News
June 10, 1999
Starwood Hotels and Resorts has announced that it will invest 20 million dollars in the refurbishment and renovation
of its hotels in Mexico this year. The company said that it is also negotiating with local investors there in the
hope of acquiring new hotels. The new hotels would involve local investment but would be backed by and would use
the name of Starwood.
The executive president of Starwood Hotels has said that the chain is still interested in purchasing the Camino
Real chain, despite the fact that its offer was previously rejected by the Fondo Bancario de Protección
al Ahorro (Fobaproa), Mexico's banking insurance fund which has the authority for selling the Mexican chain.
In bidding for Camino Real, Starwood was the only bidder, after Marriott withdrew in the last hour. Starwood has
800 million dollars to spend on new acquisitions, so it is not short of cash for the Camino Real chain. Starwood's
most successful hotel in Mexico is the Westin Regina Los Cabos.
The Camino Real chain includes luxury hotels in Acapulco, Cancun, Cuernavaca, El Paso TX, Guadalajara, Huatulco,
Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puebla, PV, Saltillo, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutierrez, and Villahermosa. At
one time it was situated to begin a timesharing program at select properties, but the peso devaluation in 1994
caused the chain such severe losses that it never recovered. Its acquisition by Starwood would greatly enhance
the company's presence in Mexico.