Three trends have driven the development of hotels that join shopping malls as another business unit. Understanding them helps you decide whether a mixed-use project makes sense for your investment.
1. Business tourism and location
The fastest-growing tourism segment is business, and in industrial cities the demand generators are often at the edge or outside the city. A hotel "in the middle of nowhere" would have little appeal; that's why a commercial complement is sought: a good place to dine, an environment with foot traffic and a security component.
Internationally, the best-known pioneer is The Westin Galleria Houston (built in 1977 and remodeled in 2002), connected to the Galleria mall, a city landmark. In Mexico, some early cases were the Fiesta Inn at Plaza Paseo (Durango, 2007) and the Holiday Inn Express next to Reforma 222 in Mexico City.
2. Diversifying the investment portfolio
The second trend is making the most of the hotel's land by integrating other complementary businesses, attractive not only to the guest but to those passing by. We see two cases:
- Hotel chains that even form alliances with mall developers to include a property.
- New investors who see hospitality as a real estate business to which they add prior experience in residential complexes, service stations or corporate buildings.
Making optimal use of the property gives the whole project higher profitability and also protects the hotel asset, turning it into an urban landmark thanks to the variety of attractions it hosts. An example of service diversity is the Fundidora complex in Monterrey: although each business operates independently, it combines a Holiday Inn hotel, the Convention Center, a museum and the Paseo Santa Lucía, which brings the visitor closer to commercial and leisure areas in the city center.
3. Roadside or suburban hotels
The third trend is hotels located on well-connected routes, serving the regional business traveler and also the long-haul traveler on one of the 10 highway corridors that connect the country's center with the borders.
Close examples are the hotels in the Toluca airport corridor or the development along the Guadalajara Ring Road (Periférico), where 3- and 4-star hotels are forced to offer complements: the guest arriving at night wants a good dinner in addition to lodging. Some properties weren't prepared for this, and that "sensitivity" can win or lose a customer: some prefer to drive 20 minutes more to find a hotel with a food option nearby.
A good example of added value: the Holiday Inn Express Sur partnered with the mall's food offering to charge consumption directly to the room and bill it on a single invoice.
What should I watch out for?
There are many ideas, but what's at stake is having professional advisory that does two things: analyze the site's vocation to identify the ideal complements, and ensure the optimal layout of areas —one of the most frequent mistakes in the field, which we even see among the most experienced developers.
Thinking about a mixed-use hotel? We analyze the land's vocation and the complements that will make your project more profitable and resilient. Pair this with our guide on tourism market research.
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