Barcelo Buys Guatemala Hotel, Eyes Nicaragua

Spain’s Barcelo Hotels & Resorts has acquired the Hotel Guatemala City for $42m in cash, and will rename it Barcelo Guatemala City. The hotel was purchased from Marriott International. A Barcelo spokesman says the company did not use outside advisors for the deal. He also says Barcelo is in talks to either acquire a hotel in Managua or sign a contract to manage it and expects a deal to be completed early next year. The Guatemalan and Nicaraguan hotels will be part of Barcelo’s business hotels, says the official, adding that the company is interested in expanding this sector. “We would like to open a business hotel in Panama and expand in Mexico,” says the source.