Star-Studded Puerto Rico

By Maria Lisella

Puerto Rico will never lose its sun and fun destination profile, but it is quite serious about its emergence as the Caribbean’s top meeting destination. With the spectacular Puerto Rico Convention Center (PRCC) as the anchor for this transformation, hotel inventory and increasingly state of the art facilities are showing up to buttress that effort.
With several properties undergoing extensive renovations and the announcement of new properties, Puerto Rico’s hotel development is booming. The most dynamic hotel brands in the world are investing in Puerto Rico, including The St. Regis, W Hotel, Sheraton, InterContinental, Coutyard Marriot and Regent. As of this summer, more than 4,774 new hotel rooms will be under construction, totaling nearly $1.5 billion in new investment and generating an additional 3,574 new jobs.
Currently, Puerto Rico is served by 27 airlines that fly to/from 62 destinations. Air service is reaching new heights in Puerto Rico as new flights and route expansions increased seat capacity by 2% and have generated an economic impact of over $100 million.

This year is projected to be Puerto Rico’s cruise industry’s strongest year. Building up on the past years’ initiatives, the island is continuing to expand and renovate its passenger ship terminals, securing additional cruise lines to dock in its ports, and redeveloping the San Juan waterfront into a bustling promenade and supporting private investment in the Island’s tourism infrastructure. Identified by the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) as the fifth largest cruise passenger traffic homeport in the Eastern hemisphere of the Americas (and the largest cruise port in the Caribbean), San Juan continues to be a leader in the Caribbean’s cruise and shipping industry. Island-wide, Puerto Rico received a total of 1,376,167 number of passengers in FY07, representing an increase of 5.9% (76,844 passengers) from FY06. With significant investments being made to Puerto Rico’s major ports and with an increased focus into marketing and promotions efforts, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company foresees, and aims for, an increase in passenger traffic of 1.7 million by 2011, which will in turn generate an increase in economic impact from the current $300 million to $500 million.
Convention Center is the Lynchpin
With the opening of its new Puerto Rico Convention Center (PRCC) in the heart of of San Juan, Puerto Rico has been carving a path to build itself as the business hub of the Caribbean. As much as its sunny weather and resort business has always attreacted the leisure side of travel, this island’s development as a meeting destination has been a blessing for local hotels.

Back then, in 2006, the the lack of a headquarter convention property may have been an obstacle for the PRCC, which is capable of hosting events with 10,000 attendees.
The 500-room San Juan Convention Center Hotel was originally scheduled to open in 2007. Ground was broken in late 2005, but the opening date was pushed back to 2008. That has now been revised and Starwood Hotels & Resorts will inaugurate the 500-room, $211 million Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel in 2010 as the anchor hotel for the Puerto Rico Convention Center Master Plan. Will be the first hospitality and mixed-use development in the Convention Center District, located adjacent to the world-class 580,000 sq. ft. facility. As part of the master plan, the Convention Center District will have a total of 1,800 rooms available.
Additionally, to add to the much needed lodging inventiory to accommodate the oncoming meeting and convention business, a $95 million Plaza Internacional Hotel is also expected to open in 2010.  It will be located near Luis Muñoz Marin Airport in San Juan and will include 264 guest rooms and 590,000 sq. ft. of retail space. The hotel will be operated by the InterContinental Hotel Group.

Beyond San Juan
Marriott International invested $127 million in the new Renaissance La Concha Hotel & Casino that opened a year ago in December. The 483-room hotel offers 15,000 sq. ft of meeting space, a 15,000 sq. ft. casino, three restaurants, an oceanfront pool and a 5,000 sq. ft. fitness center located on the beach.
A $13.6 million 152-room Courtyard by Marriott in Aguadilla opened in August 2008. The resort-like setting is just two minutes from the Aguadilla Airport and 10 minutes to the beach, downtown, the business area and many attractions. Spacious guest rooms include air conditioning, luxurious bedding, laptop-sized safe, refrigerator and large-screen TVs. JW Hotels will invest $223 million to open in the CoCo Beach Resort & Residences in 2009. The property will feature 400 hotel rooms, in addition Trump Branded Residences. CreditSuisse, together with local Puerto Rico investors, will invest over $195 million to finish construction on the new 314-room InterContinental Cayo Largo Beach Resort & Golf Course to open in 2010.
PRTC recently purchased the old “Punta Lima” minimum security prison facility in Naguabo for $8.2 million, with the aim of developing the site as an upscale boutique resort. A private company will develop and operate the property.

Newest Five Stars
For the first time in Puerto Rico’s history, several five-star properties will call Puerto Rico home. Each of these properties will entice the leisure traveler to the Island and help Puerto Rico reposition itself and its marketing strategy.
Next year, the W Hotel & Spa Vieques; the first W in the Caribbean with an investment of $135 million; the property will boast a variety of five-star amenities and 156 rooms.
The 305-room, $106 million Condado Vanderbilt Hotel is slated to open in 2009 as well.
By 2010, St. Regis Hotel & Spa will open with 139 rooms. The opening of this property represents an investment of $170 million. The exclusive resort will sit on the Bahia Beach Resort and Golf Club grounds as part of a $1.1 billion master plan luxury lifestyle community.
And by 2011, expect to see the Mandarin Oriental’s Porta Caribe to go up, billed as an exclusive 142-room property that boasts an investment of $206 million will be located at the Palmas del Mar Golf Resort. Additionally, The Regent Hotel will add 155 rooms at a cost of $172 million.

Renovations and Reflagging
Wyndham Hotel Management Inc. took over management of the Westin Rio Mar last spring, under a 20-year agreement and reflagged it as the Wyndham Rio Mar. Wyndham has begun a $40 million capital improvement project to upgrade guestrooms, casino, meeting rooms, public areas, restaurants and golf courses. The multimillion-dollar capital improvement project includes $4.7 million in renovations to the 7,000-square-foot Rio Mar Casino.
The Paradisus was recently reflagged and renamed Sol Melia’s high-end brand: Gran Melia Beach & Resort, the only one in the Caribbean.
San Juan’s 173-room historic Normandie Hotel completed an $8 million renovation with features including wireless access throughout the property, 7,000 square-feet of meeting space, two 800-gallon fish tanks in the lobby, art deco furnishings, two restaurants and a spa. The hotel, originally opened in 1942 and known for its unique shape resembling a luxury liner, was acquired by Caribbean Property Group in 2007; the same firm also owns the Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel Spa & Casino and the Radisson Ambassador Plaza Hotel & Casino.
Starwood now manages the Martineau Bay Resort on Vieques Island with an investors group from Spain who will invest $60 million to convert the hotel into the first W Resort in the world. It is scheduled to open in 2009.
The San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino (owned by AIG Global Real Estate) has begun a $36.7 million renovation to bring the property to the level of other luxury resorts on the island. The 402 rooms being renovated will gradually come back into service.
The 123-room cabana wing will be under renovation through November but will remain open during the process. The finished project will include a grand lobby, updated casino, refreshed ballroom and guest rooms with a new Latin Caribbean look.
The Water Club in San Juan has officially changed its name to San Juan Water & Beach Club Hotel and has added amenities including renovated bathrooms featuring bath and spa products from H20 Plus and Wi-Fi access.

Air Access on Rise
The Puerto Rico Tourism Company has spearheaded a campaign to increase air access to the Island and its various airports. As a result, traffic to the Porta del Sol region, on the Island's west coast, has increased by 8.4 percent since 2004, representing 289,780 visitors; visits by non-residents increased by 23 percent over the past four years from 63,716 visitors in 2004 to 78,489 visitors in 2008.
"We have spent over $1.5 million in the development of marketing strategies to promote Porta del Sol, without counting the numerous events we sponsor in the region. Our commitment to Porta del Sol is such that it is the only tourist region in the Island that has its own publicity campaign in the U.S. and the rest of the Americas," said Gonzalez-Denton.
Jet Blue offers three new routes from Orlando (MCO), including twice daily non-stop flights to San Juan (SJU) and once daily flights to Aguadilla (BQN), seasonal service to Ponce (PSE) and seasonal non-stop service to San Juan from Boston Logan Airport (BOS).
Last year, Spirit Airlines launched non-stop service from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Aguadilla (BQN) five times per week, and also launched seasonal, non-stop service to San Juan (SJU) from Atlantic City (ACY) and from Tampa (TPS).
Continental Airlines offers daily service to Ponce (PSE) and Aguadilla (BQN) from Newark Liberty International. And Continental has increased service from Houston by 77%, raising the number of seats weekly to 4, 252 from 2,404.
Air Tran Airways began flying between the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (LMM) on March 5, 2008. The same day, nonstop flights between the Orlando International Airport (MCO) and the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (LMM) were launched, adding a second daily, non-stop flight as of April 9, 2008.
American Eagle has added new flights to Puerto Rico from Samana, St. Lucia, and Martinique. Additionally, they have increased weekly seat capacity from Anguilla 100% from 896 to 1,792.
Ted Airlines (A subsidiary of United Airways) has increased service from Chicago 10%, now offering 3,812 seats, and also increased service from Washington 101% now offering 4,988 flights.

Airports Enhanced
Through 2011, a series of capital improvements totalling nearly $400 million are scheduled for Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU).
On the west coast, Aguadilla’s Rafael Hernandez Airport (BQN) recently opened its new $10.1 million international terminal. For the sixth consecutive year in a row, Rafael Hernandez Airport has recorded phenomenal growth in traffic figures and received a record 417,006 passengers in 2008, representing a 23.3 percent growth over 2007, during which a total of 381,950 passengers traveled through the airport.
With increased travel to the island’s southern region, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority invested $2.5 million to renovate the Ponce Mercedita Airport (PSE).

For more information, contact the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, www.gotopuertorico.com