Within the framework of the IMEX in Frankfurt 2023 international fair, dedicated especially to MICE tourism, Travel2latam spoke with Marco Martínez, Director of Corporate Accounts at Grupo Posadas, a leader in hospitality, with nine brands, 28,000 rooms and different hotels for all segments, located throughout the Mexican Republic.
What is the hotels personality?
From the "One" brand, the hotels have very simple breakfasts and are located near the airports and in shopping malls, it is a brand for low cost, and is followed by the "Gamma" brand, which is Business Class and is located in throughout the Mexican Republic and of course in strategic places. Then we have the "Fiesta Americana", which has large halls and large locations; also “Fiesta Americana Grand”, dedicated to the senior executive and from there we have the “Live Aqua”, which is another lifestyle brand that we have mainly in the resorts and in large cities such as Monterrey, San Miguel de Allende, Cancun and Los Cabos.
What are the offers that Grupo Posadas has through its brands for MICE tourism?
The “Fiesta Americana”, “Fiesta Americana Grand” and “Live Aqua” brands are mainly aimed at the MICE segment, they are hotels with a capacity of 600 rooms, 1500 square meters of meeting rooms, divisible into 15 or 20 depending on the city, the hotel and destination, but they are hotels that have large capacities in double rooms, the majority are 60% double rooms and 40% single rooms, and they are aimed at groups and conventions and important markets in the MICE segment.
Do you also promote incentives?
Of course, it is also very important. Mexico City has become a city for incentives because we have nearby "anchor" cities such as Puebla, San Miguel de Allende and Querétaro, which are cities and road destinations so they can get to Mexico City and from there move to the rest of the world. more than two and a half hours, where all these satellite cities are.
Does Grupo Puebla have new projects on the way?
Of course, important projects are coming, such as 1,200 rooms in Cancun, we are going to have a Fiesta Americana Grand and a Fiesta Americana with 8,000 square meters of meeting rooms and it is one of the most ambitious projects we have, also a very large Live Aqua hotel with 150 rooms in Baja California, in the part of the vineyards, which will also be a very aspirational hotel for the MICE segment.
What are the destinations you are promoting for MICE?
Especially the destinations that have great connectivity; Mexico City, Cancun, Vallarta, Los Cabos, Merida, Guadalajara and Monterrey. We feel that these destinations are the ones with the greatest connectivity and are also the big business cities where you can do everything from a congress to a local group in our hotels.
Grupo Puebla is already in the Dominican Republic. Do you plan further expansion to other countries?
We want to grow in the Caribbean, we are in fact growing in Punta Cana and right there we are developing a new brand aimed particularly at the family, with an aquatic center and large rooms.