Hurricane Damage Keeps Nearly Half a Dozen Mexican Hotels Out of Business

Sol Meliá SA, one of the largest hoteliers in the Caribbean, is keeping five of its properties in Mexico closed longer than planned after damage caused by Hurricane Wilma.

The Palma de Majorca-based company has closed three five-star hotels in Cancun and two resorts on the island of Cozumel until as late as June, according to Sol Meliá´s Web site. The company said in November that it planned to open the hotels, with 1,844 rooms, by January 10.

Sol Meliá has closed half of its hotels in Mexico after hurricane damage there. Concern about travel safety after more than 20 tropical storms last year is leading some tourists to travel to destinations such as Spain for their beach holidays, Exceltur, a Spanish tourism trade group, has said.

The Meliá Turquesa, which has more than 400 rooms, is closed until June 30, while the 800-room Gran Meliá Cancun is shut until March 31. Sol Meliá will open two other hotels with more than 600 rooms total in Mexico on January 14. The company didn´t give a date for the Sol Cabanas del Caribe.

The closings mean more than half of Sol Meliá´s 3,500 hotel rooms in the country are unavailable. Sol Meliá said in November that it expected insurers probably would cover the damage to its hotels. The company also said it has no plans to cut jobs at those resorts, which employ almost 1,700 people.