Planning meetings and incentives in Mexico is a bit more complicated than it used to be — as it is for most destinations as long as COVID-19 continues to disrupt meetings and business travel.
In a recent webinar, Prevue invited an expert panel to discuss the ins and outs of planning meetings and incentives in Mexico now to answer planners’ burning questions in a recent webinar. The panelists were Pamela Payne, Senior Director for Meeting & Incentive Sales with AMResorts; Anne Gorman, Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Streamline Events; and David Manzella, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Fiesta Americana Hotels & Resorts/Posadas, a leading Latin American hotel company with hotels and resorts throughout Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Do you need proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter Mexico?
No, but you, your staff, and your attendees will need a negative COVID test to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico, as you do when re-entering the U.S. from any other country in the world, said Manzella.
“As part of our Travel with Confidence Protection Plan, we do the free antigen test right on property,” he said. AMResorts also provides complimentary COVID tests for guests returning to the U.S. Manzella added that, while positive rates have been very low — 1% — if someone should test positive for COVID, his company’s hotels have on-site doctors on property to care for guests.
What types of health and safety measures are being taken at hotels in Mexico?
Payne said that while the traditional buffet lines are gone, “we do have full staff behind the line serving up exactly what they want.” Everything is sanitized and individually wrapped and sealed, from coffee cups to in-house robes and slippers. “They go to elaborate lengths to keep the health and safety of the guests first and foremost,” she said.
Manzella said they are still encouraging people to wear masks throughout their properties, and enhanced cleaning protocols are still in place. He added that, while Mexico just opened vaccination availability to everyone 18 or older, most of the staff at his hotels have already been vaccinated.
“But we’re not even getting these questions anymore from our groups because they know hotels in Mexico are passionate about this because it is their livelihood. We’ve been doing this for groups since July 2020 and everyone has stayed healthy and safe.”
In terms of capacity limits, both Payne and Manzella said that varies depending on the location. “We’re confident that everything will be completely open by the end of the year, though we will still follow our health and safety protocols,
Manzella said.
How has the meeting and incentive business been in Mexico lately?
Payne said that 80% of AMResorts’ Mexico clients chose to postpone rather than cancel when the pandemic hit, and now business is coming back in a big way.
Manzella reported a similar experience: “When you look at the analytics from 2021 and 2022, we’re up 80% in Q1 and Q2, and a lot of that is incentive travel. Some groups are smaller in size right now, but groups are getting larger as people begin to feel more comfortable,” he said.
“The issue we’re running into is the groups that moved from 2020 are causing a lot of compression in late 2021 and into 2022 — not just in Mexico, but also in U.S. markets such as Las Vegas and Orlando,” he said. “We were able to save more than 95% of our groups that wanted to move last year, and I attribute that to my amazing team. Now we’re seeing an 80% increase in demand and lead volume, and it’s a great problem to have to find holes to fill with all this new business!”
Gorman said that, while she’s primarily working with smaller groups now, “we are seeing some traction with larger group incentives starting with Q2 next year — and then growing again for 2023. It’s a very encouraging trend.”
What makes Mexico a value destination for group meetings and incentives?
Payne said that goods and services have typically been less expensive in Mexico than in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean, much of which is subject to European laws and tariffs.
“Mexico now is a world-class destination with amazing service, amazing chefs, and the fruits and vegetables produced in Mexico are outstanding — and you can still get great value,” she said.
Manzella added that international planners bring groups in from outside of Mexico will not only get first-class experiences, food and beverage, and infrastructure, but also an exemption from the country’s 16% value-added tax, or VAT. The hotel collects the passports and does all the paperwork for you, so all you do is see that 16% come off your master account, he said. “You don’t pay it and get reimbursed — it’s a straight line-item reduction. You’re going to get an experience like no other, and get it at a great value.”
Value is more important than ever for groups. While some are flush with cash not spent on programs cancelled in 2020, others are on a shoestring right now as companies begin to recover from COVID-era losses, the panelists said.
“From a practical standpoint, the hotel rates you can get in major Mexican destinations, along with the infrastructure, optional activities, restaurants and nightlife, the cultural immersion you get from the food and music and entertainment — you get a value destination that does not feel like a value destination,” said Gorman.
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