La Quinta Inn comes to Panama

La Quinta hotel chain is a very successful no frills business model and I will be curious to see how well they will do here in Panama. They have been operating for many years in Costa Rica near the airport and you can always be assured of reasonable value and good customer service. Maybe they can help set a new standard here in Panama.


Goldberg said the limited-service brand, based in Dallas, is planning for “explosive” growth in Mexico, Latin America South America and continuing its “aggressive growth” in the U.S.

The numbers tell the story. Rajiv K. Trivedi, Executive Vice President of Franchise & Chief Development Officer, said La Quinta plans to open five hotels in Mexico this year and has up to 20 properties under development in Mexico, as well as 15 others in the pipeline in Central America. New construction on a hotel in Panama is expected to start this year and the brand is reviewing conversion opportunities in Panama.

Although no properties are in the pipeline for South America, Trivedi said the brand has started discussions and is establishing infrastructure with employees on the ground developing relationships.

“In the entire region, Columbia and Brazil have the biggest opportunities after Mexico,” he said.

Goldberg added that Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala are target markets. The company also is looking east, and plans to introduce its brand to China and India.

The challenge is to maintain control of the brand and, as Trivedi put it, find the right path. That means determining the right ownership structure -- a management contract, a franchise or a combination --  and building the type of hotel that will meet the changing needs of guests.

The model for select service is different internationally, Trivedi said, in that they should have a lounge and a small F&B operation. That’s a change in profile for the brand, he said.

New construction hotels are creating a mid-tier for the emerging middle class in Latin America. Some of these countries may have resorts, but they lack select-service properties.

“Because of all of these changes, it has become more appropriate for select service to be there,” he said. “It will provide better margins than any other segment of our industry.”