Reportur.mx interview with Ramón Roselló, president of the Hotel Association
Established in 2022 with the purpose of representing the interests of the organized Hotel industry of the destination, the Costa Mujeres Hotel Association has managed to be successful thanks to the fact that it works hand in hand with the three levels of government and the business sector, in order to promote tourism and Hotel growth in the area. Its current president, Ramón Roselló, spoke with Reportur.mx about the growth and consolidation of Costa Mujeres as a tourist destination.
REPORTUR.mx: How is the Costa Mujeres Hotel Association doing at the moment in terms of growth?
RAMON ROSELLÓ: The Costa Mujeres Hotel Association is currently made up of 12 Hotel groups, that is, one hundred percent of the groups that have a presence in Costa Mujeres are members of the Association, and we have the incorporation of a new member on the horizon when finalize a negotiation that is being done for the development of another Hotel complex. At this moment we have ten thousand rooms in operation, we can say that we have them at full capacity and with an average occupancy that is the highest in the state; That gives us a lot of hope to continue doing things well.
A: Are the numbers equally good for the association’s hotels this summer season?
RR: Yes, the truth is that the reservation expectations that we expected are being met, and we have new projects underway, which is all good news.
A.: After the recent electoral victory of Mayor Atenea Gómez in the municipality of Isla Mujeres, what are the Association’s expectations?
RR: First of all, we must congratulate the municipal president because she has achieved a historic victory, the level of acceptance that President Atenea Gómez has is fantastic; We have a very cordial relationship with her and her team, where we talk about the challenges that lie ahead of her and that we currently have to return to, once the campaign hiatus has ended; resume our regular meetings to solve the challenges we have; Together with the public and private sectors, we will surely solve them because Costa Mujeres itself is a great challenge, it is a destination that must be taken care of, it must be pampered and I am sure that we will have the full collaboration of the municipality.
A: What would you say are the main challenges or needs of Costa Mujeres as a Hotel zone at this time?
RR: The great challenge is that we have to achieve a very good urban development, and we have to obtain financing, but I can already tell you that we are working on it; The governor not only committed to this, but she and her team are already working on an access project for the entire Costa Mujeres area that will be a necessary infrastructure project, both in terms of the road and the lighting. service areas; We have to do them so that we can say that Costa Mujeres is the best destination in the state. I am very happy to be able to say that we have the governor and her team working on it, and the municipal president also working with the Governor, we are all working on it and we are going to achieve it.
A: Could you tell us what the next Hotel openings that Costa Mujeres will have will be and that will be members of the Association?
RR: They have asked me to wait before being able to make the announcement, but what I can tell you is that a St. Regis Hotel is being built, a Marriott is being built, another Excellence Group Hotel is being built, it is starting to build another Majestic and an H10, and soon we will have more news about new projects. (Costa Mujeres already fills almost all of its offer even without historical clientele).
A: Any opening soon this year?
RR: Not for this year, it will be for next year, for 2025.
A: Regarding promotion and advertising, what is your opinion of the work currently being carried out by the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council (CPTQ)?
RR: I consider that there has been a great change in the way the CPTQ is run, for which we must thank the Secretary of Tourism, Bernardo Cueto, and Andrés Martínez, its general director, who have given a new approach to the CPTQ, where the representatives of Hotel associations have a voice and a seat on the Council. I think that the great transformation that has been made, both in terms of public relations, making constant Trips by the general director or his team to the issuing countries such as the United States, Canada and also at the national level to different states of the country -because we must not forget that the national market currently represents almost a third of the tourists we receive in the state- on the one hand this work is being done in a way that I would say is very satisfactory, and on the other hand, as Regarding advertising, I believe that the presentation of the Mexican Caribbean campaign gives it the focus of that entrance tunnel to everything that is the Mexican Caribbean and that from there they will enter the twelve destinations, with exclusive campaigns for those twelve destinations. Within the format of the great campaign of the Mexican Caribbean, I believe that what is being done is very satisfactory and we are happy.
A: Changing the subject a bit to Inverotel, since you are its CEO, what are the growth prospects for Spanish chains in Mexico and the Caribbean?
RR: We have many projects underway, especially in the Mexican Caribbean, projects that are going to start very soon and we also have some projects in the Mexican Pacific area, and even a possible project in Mexico City is being studied. We as Inverotel remain open to other countries because we have important interests in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, but Mexico continues to be our first country as an investment, where we feel very comfortable and we hope to be able to continue working the way we do, working The hand in hand, I repeat, with the Governor and her team and with the Secretary of Tourism of the state and his team, is a true pleasure. Sometimes we disagree, but we are in harmony and we can speak frankly about all things, because disagreement becomes a challenge and that is fundamental for our work; We are very satisfied and we must thank the governor and the Secretary of Tourism, Bernardo Cueto, for having that level of relationship, we are very satisfied.
A: Regarding the issue of sustainability, what is your current vision?
RR: Look, not only in Costa Mujeres; As we are Spanish companies, like Inverhotel, European companies, we are under the sustainability compliance agenda of the European Union, and wherever we make the hotels, we have to comply with it, so on the topic of sustainability we can say that we are very advanced. But there is something that worries us a lot, and I will not tire of repeating it: if hoteliers make an effort in all the destinations where we are to have hotels that are increasingly more respectful of the environment, investing a lot of money so that our infrastructures are the least possible harmful actions, respect for mangroves, respect for beaches, etc., what makes us very angry, to use an expression, is that the world of vacation rentals does not meet even one of the requirements that hoteliers have to meet. , and that is an issue that must be worked on, that must be seen from a global perspective, because today vacation rentals, from my point of view, are the great challenge of having to meet the same requirements that hoteliers meet. ; and it is no longer just an issue of taxes, it is an issue of alcohol licenses, security, sustainability, etc. That is to say, if we make a tremendous effort in all these sections, vacation rentals do not, so the objective of having sustainable destinations is not being met.
Then there is something very dangerous for society itself and that is that, since they make real estate more expensive in a very harmful way for the citizen, then that becomes a problem; In Spain we have already known tourismphobia, it does not come from the Hotel world, tourismphobia comes from the world of vacation rentals, what they do is displace families, what they do is harm social coexistence and that is very serious .
A: Do you consider that vacation rentals are a threat to organized hospitality?
RR: If vacation rentals do not meet the same requirements that the Hotel industry meets, it is a threat not only to the organized Hotel industry, it is a threat to the city itself or the areas where they are located. Many times they tell me “you wouldn’t want there to be vacation rentals”; No, that is not true, what I am saying is that we all have to meet the same requirements, if we meet all the same requirements I can guarantee that organized hospitality would not have any fear. Look, for every job that vacation rentals create – an illegal job, since it does not comply with current legislation – hoteliers create 10 jobs, so it is very easy to see who benefits society and who does not.
A: Any final message you would like to share?
RR: First, thank the governor and the Secretary of Tourism for the work they are doing, and on the other hand, ask the hoteliers to continue doing things as we are doing them, to continue having the dialogue that we have, that is a guarantee that we can do things very well done for the destination and for the country.
