COVID-19 webinar summary: 5 key points on Latin America hotel performance, 24 March

STR remains committed to keeping the hospitality industry updated on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our webinar series will provide in-depth updates on world regions around the globe. However, if you are unable to watch the full recording during this stressful time, you can find a summary of the key points below.

Panama, one of the countries most affected by COVID-19

Panama, Costa Rica and Chile are the Latin America countries most affected by COVID-19—these are markets highly dependent on international demand. Likewise, the decreases in occupancy are greater as virus containment measures have intensified throughout the region. However, Brazil showed high growth during the first week of March due to the rebound effect of Carnival celebration.

Santiago: difficult 2020 for the Chilean capital since the protests

Since the beginning of 2020, occupancy in Santiago has not shown growth. This trend started in the Chilean capital at the start of protests in 2019. The decrease in occupancy was accentuated last week (9-15 March) with decreases in occupancy worse than 45%.

The cities most affected in LATAM by COVID-19

Despite the fact that the highly corporate markets are in the low season during January and February, the decreases in occupancy have also been significant.

All LATAM tourist destinations affected by COVID-19

Cusco, one of the region’s main tourist destinations, has been one of the markets most affected by COVID-19. The market presented decreases in occupancy as bad as 50% (15 March). Likewise, occupancy in Cancun decreased to 20% that same day.

Hotel performance located in major ports in the region

The occupancy levels of hotels located near the most important ports in the region with heavy cruise traffic have also decreased. Among them, Panama, Cartagena, Curacao, Aruba, and Puerto Rico saw decreases in occupancy worse than 20%.

However, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres and Riviera Maya showed slight growth—especially in Cozumel, where occupancy continued above 80%.