Brazil Hotels Post Record Profitability, Jones LaSalle Says

Hotels profitability rose to a record in Brazil last year as rates jumped 17 percent, underscoring the need for tourism infrastructure investment amid growing inflow of visitors, a report by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s hotel consultancy unit and Brazil’s Hotel Operators Forum show.

Revenue per available room rose 21 percent on average to 147 reais ($72.47) at hotels in the country’s urban areas, the steepest increase since at least 2005, according to the report, which surveyed 400 hotels. The average daily rate was 211 reais last year, up from 180 reais in 2010, and already increased 18 percent in the first five months of this year, the data show.

“Even amid the slowing economic growth, hotels were able to raise rates that had been pressured in the past 10 years,” said Ricardo Mader, head of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels in South America, in a telephone interview from Guayaquil, Ecuador today.

Hotels in Brazil should continue to post positive results in the coming years, with demand outpacing supply, he said. “Projects being announced now should be ready in three years. It’s not enough time for the World Cup.”

The number of foreign visitors to Brazil rose 5.8 percent in 2011 to more than 5.4 million people. Latin America’s biggest economy has about 10,000 hotels, totaling 500,000 rooms, and is expected to add 238 hotels and 38,854 rooms by 2014, Jones Lang said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adriana Chiarini in Rio de Janeiro at achiarini4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Helder Marinho at hmarinho@bloomberg.net