The Colombian hospitality market has transformed over the past decade, moving from a landscape dominated by large international chains to one where boutique properties are setting new standards for tourism. At the forefront of this shift is Matias Maya Calad, General Manager at Hotel Operations Co, whose journey from startup lawyer to boutique hotel developer highlights both the opportunities and challenges within Colombia’s evolving hospitality sector.
From Legal Practice to Hospitality
Maya entered hospitality during a pivotal period for Colombian tourism. After founding a boutique law firm focused on startups in Medellín, he observed a downturn in consulting and began looking for growth opportunities in Colombia’s changing economy.
“In 2018-2019, we were seeing a big influx of tourists from the States, mainly. We were seeing a lot of people coming down to Colombia, mostly to Cartagena, which had a boom a couple of decades ago, and we were seeing that Medellín was going towards becoming a very noticeable hub for tourism,” Matias says.
He recognized an opening in the hospitality market: “We only had big brand hotels back then, a couple Marriott hotels, a couple Hilton, and The Dann Carlton Hotel, which are very structured and institutional, mostly made to attend business travel.”
This gap, combined with Colombia’s growing visibility on social media and the country’s post-conflict stability, created an opportunity for boutique hospitality products catering to new traveler demographics.
Strategic Location and Market Timing
Maya’s first project targeted Guatapé, a scenic town two hours from Medellín experiencing a tourism revival. The timing was fortunate, as the project was developed during the COVID lockdown, when separated cabin accommodations became highly desirable.
“We benefited a lot from the cabins being separated, which drove the ADR over initial opening to skyrocket because it was the correct product at the right time in a very interesting market,” he notes.
The Boato Hotel, featuring 15 separated cabins with restaurant facilities on the water, became the region’s first boutique hotel. Its success validated the market opportunity while revealing operational challenges that would shape future strategy.
Building an Integrated Operations Model
The initial property’s success exposed a core challenge: scale economics in boutique hotel operations. Maya found that boutique properties are often too small to support comprehensive in-house teams but large enough to require many of the same services as bigger hotels.
“Boutique hotels have an issue. They’re not big enough to have their own team built inside their structure, but they are big enough to require most of the services that big hotels have,” Matias explains. “The only way to make a proper sales process was by having a centralized reservation center.”
This realization led to a dual-structure model: a development arm focused on architecture, financial modeling, market research, and concept development, paired with an operations division managing day-to-day activities across multiple properties.
“We have a centralized operation center which handles accounting, tax, legal, human resources, marketing, sales, reservations, and supply chain, so the boutique hotels can concentrate their workforce on the guests and nothing else,” Matias describes.
Three Core Principles for Development
Through successive projects and market cycles, Matias refined his approach around three key principles: uniqueness, irreplicability, and market positioning.
The uniqueness principle addresses Colombia’s tendency toward rapid market replication. “We are great replicators, and Colombians are very good at saying, ‘I think this is a success. I’m going to make it like that,’” Maya observes. “As soon as you open your project in a market, every single developer wants to replicate your success.”
Irreplicability focuses on securing advantages that cannot be easily duplicated. The Santa Marta project Perla Roca Hotel demonstrates this: “We had the opportunity to take 80-year-old abandoned ruins that were built very close to the sea. We were able to develop two suites with their private pools around one meter away from the sea.”
Market positioning is the third pillar. Instead of competing in the middle market, Hotel Operations Co focuses on top-tier products that can adjust pricing during downturns while maintaining quality.
“When the market becomes saturated, the top product can decrease rates by 20% to match the volume that middle players are making, but clients are getting a better product,” he explains. “Being top of the game gives you playing versatility in terms of what volume of clients you want to get.”
Market Evolution and the Importance of Scale
Maya Calad’s experience spans Colombia’s tourism boom and its move toward a more mature market. During the 2022-2023 peak, Medellín hotels maintained 85% occupancy with high rates. Since then, the market has stabilized, exposing vulnerabilities in certain property types.
“We think hotels below 25-24 rooms are going to be in a very tricky spot,” Maya Calad notes. “Products that were anticipating more volume in their structure, like 44 to 64 rooms, are doing great, having great margins. But those at different volume levels are being stretched to the max.”
Larger boutique properties benefit from better platform visibility, improved fixed cost distribution, superior unit economics during high-demand periods, and the ability to offer amenities like gyms and spas that smaller properties cannot justify.
The company’s investor base reflects Colombia’s status as an emerging market attracting both local and international capital. “We have an investor pool of 50% foreigners and 50% locals,” Matias shares. This structure supports a low CapEx model, keeping development, design, and operations under company control while requiring manageable capital commitments.
Future Prospects in Colombian Hospitality
Looking forward, Matias sees opportunities for developers who understand the market’s transition from rapid growth to a more established state. The key is developing properties with the right scale and unique positioning to withstand market fluctuations.
“There’s a great opportunity to come up with products that are knowledgeable about an established market,” he explains. “Developing more volume-adjusted products to the market is still a great opportunity to establish yourself.”
The maturation of Colombia’s boutique hotel sector offers both challenges and prospects. Properties that achieve the right combination of scale, uniqueness, and operational efficiency are positioned to succeed as the market evolves. Maya’s integrated development and operations model provides a roadmap for navigating this dynamic environment and building sustainable hospitality businesses in one of Latin America’s most promising tourism destinations.
For investors and developers considering Colombian hospitality, the lessons from Maya’s experience highlight the importance of strategic positioning, operational integration, and understanding local market dynamics in building successful boutique hotel ventures.
As Colombia’s hospitality sector continues to develop, the boutique hotel segment is likely to play a central role in shaping the country’s tourism identity. The ability to adapt to changing traveler preferences, leverage unique local assets, and build operationally resilient businesses will be critical for long-term success. Maya Calad’s approach demonstrates how thoughtful development and integrated management can create lasting value and contribute to the growth of Colombia’s boutique hotel ecosystem.
