Mainly known for restaurants decorated with musical instruments and objects that once belonged to big names in music, the Hard Rock network also has hotel and resort operations that are expected to open two units in Brazil by 2020.
Present in cities such as Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and Cancun (Mexico), the company signed the contract with the Brazilian VCI fund, which raised R $ 300 million with debentures (debt securities) to kick-start the business in Brazil.
The first two units are already in progress, says Samuel Sicchierolli, president of VCI. They will be built on Lagoinhas Beach (80 km from Fortaleza) and on Ilha do Sol (located on a dam in the Londrina region of Paraná). In these two cases, the executive said, the fund acquired projects that had difficulties in completing the works. A third development, in Caldas Novas (GO), will be built from the begining.
Although the investment in the resorts is from the Brazilian fund, Hard Rock will manage the hotels. The idea is to ensure a global standard. According to Sicchierolli, one of the difficulties to establish the partnership with the American network was precisely the standardization of the rooms and common areas, which required adaptations in the units that were already under construction.
The contract with Hard Rock will represent a "jump" for the VCI fund in the hotel market. So far, the only project the investor has set up is Tryp by Wyndham, which operates within Guarulhos International Airport and is no longer part of the fund's portfolio. The goal, according to Sicchierolli, is to start sales of the Hard Rock resort projects between May and June 2018.
Expansion plans
The arrival in Brazil is part of a plan to rapidly expand the operation of hotels and resorts of Hard Rock. In countries where the law allows gaming, the group also opens casinos linked to the hosting properties.
According to Hard Rock Resorts Development Vice President, Todd Hricko, the company currently has 26 projects in operation and has closed 35 new contracts for new units over the last three years.
The goal of Hard Rock, explains Hricko, is to reach 100 hotels and resorts under contract by 2020. So he says there is room for Hard Rock to open more resorts in Brazil with both the VCI itself - which already has a fourth project in gestation, in Natal - as with other investors.
According to industry sources, the beginning of the operation by Lagoinhas, Caldas Novas and Ilha do Sol shows that, at least in these three projects, Hard Rock Resorts is betting that the attraction power of the brand helps to leverage destinations that today are still relatively unknown, such as Lagoinhas, or have regional importance, such as Caldas Novas and Ilha do Sol. A source from the sector classifies the destinations as secondary, without the attraction power of Rio de Janeiro or Northeastern capitals.
Source: GMB / Exame
