By Adam Perkowsky, HOTEL BUSINESS
Hotel Equities has spent years building its portfolio across the U.S. and Canada, but the company’s most aggressive growth story is unfolding farther south—across the Caribbean & Latin America (CALA)—where opportunity is rising.
“We currently have five hotels open and 15 in the pipeline,” said Juan Corvinos, president, Caribbean & Latin America, Hotel Equities, who joined the company in May 2025, a month after retiring from a development position at Hilton in the region.
He stepped into his current role a year and two months after Hotel Equities ramped up its CALA operations following its strategic partnership with Trust Hospitality, a management company with longstanding relationships in the region.
Corvinos noted that the CALA growth plan hasn’t changed since that time, adding, “Hotel Equities saw the opportunity and decided that if we were going to be serious about this platform, we needed to build it the right way.”
That meant bringing on local teams rather than managing from a distance. “I kept telling them, ‘You need local people who understand the market if you want to be the best out there,’” he explained. “That’s what we did—local talent, bilingual teams and people based in-market across the region.”
Today, that commitment shows up in the company’s personnel structure.
“If you look at our organizational chart, it looks like NATO—people from all nationalities, all based in the region,” he explained. “We’ve basically supercharged the plan, and we’re plowing ahead.”
The early wins came fast. “I don’t think it was the expectation that in our first seven months we’d have five hotels open—but we got there,” Corvinos said. “And in this business, growth becomes exponential.”
Corvinos also credits Ben Rafter, who became CEO of Hotel Equities following the merger with Springboard Hospitality, with giving the CALA division the freedom to move quickly. “Ben’s been extremely supportive,” he said. “The first thing Ben said was, ‘How can I help you, and what do you need?’ That set the tone.”
The CALA leader said their partnership blends different strengths since “there’s a lot of institutional knowledge I bring from the branded world, and he brings from the independent side, and we complement each other at the executive level.” He added, “It really is the perfect marriage—independent and branded. I’m learning a lot about running hotels independently, and he likes what the brands can do with distribution.”
The current portfolio reflects the range of opportunities across the region.
“Our open portfolio is a mixed bag,” Corvinos said. “It includes focus-service in the Hampton by Hilton St. Thomas; Donoma Las Terrenas Beach Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection, a gorgeous resort in the Dominican Republic; Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, a business hotel in Kingston, Jamaica; and Casas del XVI, one of the most beautiful boutique hotels in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.” Also open is Clarita’s Beach Bar & Hotel, which will join the WorldHotels Elite portfolio on March 2.
Noteworthy properties in the pipeline include AMARIS Grace Bay, LXR Hotels & Resorts, in Turks & Caicos; Ceòra, a Luxury Collection Resort, in Curaçao; and Elephant Tree Resort and Villas Tobago, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.
Growth is being fueled partly by shifting owner needs. “What we’re seeing is a lot of owners going through generational transitions,” Corvinos said. “They want an institutional manager to run the hotels so they can focus on other businesses.”
Looking ahead, Corvinos is focused on disciplined expansion.
“We’re operating within a triangle—Miami; Guadalajara, Mexico; and Panama—because it keeps us within a tight flight range,” he said. “That triangle is what I’m obsessed with right now.”
Even with rapid growth, he said, success will ultimately come down to one primary goal.
“My wish is that we become the go-to for owners because of consistency,” Corvinos said. “I don’t want to be the biggest. I want to be the consistent one.”
