Back in the game. (Executive Travel).

After years of ignoring the region, Hilton has cast an eye back on Latin America--with its most expensive hotel project ever in the region: the 485-room, US$90 million Sao Paulo Morumbi.

"We think Brazil is important and we think [this hotel] will be a good springboard to further development," says Howard Friedman, president of the Americas for Hilton International. "It's not the biggest Hilton, but it is the largest investment." Hilton, which usually just manages hotels bearing its name, also owns the Morumbi, a rare move in economically turbulent times.

The Morumbi could become the prototype for future Hiltons in the region. Its facilities include a health club like those found in Hilton's European hotels, a coffee bar and rooms separated into work, living and sleep areas. The Morumbi also debuts eight so-called relaxation rooms--guest rooms with softer colors, special aromatherapy oils and soaps and soft background music.

As economies improve in the region, Friedman says, Hilton will add hotels. "Rio [de Janeiro] would be first. Then Mexico City, Lima, Santiago. Also Panama and Costa Rica," he says, adding that the latter two would include resorts as well as business hotels.

Hilton was an early presence in Latin America, opening a luxury hotel in Caracas in the 1960s. Although it operates a dozen hotels in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, it has not added new properties in several years. "Hilton up until recently generated most of its revenues from five hotels in the United States," says Chase Burritt, national partner in hospitality services at business consultant Ernst & Young. "But that has changed."

The analyst says Hilton has been studying the potential of new international markets. "In Latin America, there's just not enough four-star-plus rooms. And there's clearly not enough at that quality level in Brazil," Burritt says.