NH Hoteles is fortifying its liquidity in a $57M operation in Mexico that involves the following agreements.

• The sale of three company-owned hotels that are currently operated under franchise agreements as Hilton-brand hotels
• The cancelation of the management contracts for the Krystal vacation hotels operated by the company in Cancún,
• Puerto Vallarta and Ixtapa and the sale of the Krystal brand

NH Hoteles has 11 urban hotels in Mexico and plans to open two additional hotels in Mexico City and Querétaro during this year

NH Hoteles has reached an agreement in line with the asset disposal strategy announced by the group last year. The $57M operation entails the sale of three NH properties that are currently operated under franchise agreements as Hilton-brand hotels. The hotels involved in the sale are the Hilton Guadalajara with 450 rooms, the Hilton Garden Inn Monterrey with 150 rooms and the Hilton Garden Inn Ciudad Juarez, which has 120 rooms.

In addition, the agreement envisages the cancelation of the management contracts for an additional three hotels operated by the company in Mexico. These three vacation-oriented hotels are the NH Krystal Cancún with 385 rooms, the NH Krystal Puerto Vallarta with 512 rooms and the NH Krystal Ixtapa with 255 rooms.

The operation includes the sale of the Krystal brand.

Both the Hilton and the Krystal hotels were added to the NH portfolio in 2001, when the company started up its business activities in Mexico.

NH Hoteles will focus its business in Mexico on the urban segment. The company currently has 11 hotels with a total of 1,770 rooms in major cities throughout Mexico, including Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. NH Hoteles also has plans for two new hotels in Mexico City and Querétaro with 130 and 140 rooms, respectively.

These new hotels will start operate this April (NH Querétaro) and June (NH Valle Dorado, Mexico City)