Roberto Palazuelos on Building Tulum’s Hotel Empire

Tulum, Mexico — Roberto Palazuelos has shared the secrets behind the empire he built in Tulum, where he was a pioneering businessman in transforming this municipality into a recognized tourist destination in Mexico.

The Federal Consumer Prosecutor’s Office (Profeco) suspended two of Roberto Palazuelos’ hotels in Tulum, a tourist destination where the ‘Black Diamond’ has boasted of being one of the pioneers in turning the municipality into what it is today.

The suspension of the Diamante K hotel and other hotels in the area was due to their accommodation prices, in addition to failing to comply with other regulations, such as not displaying their rates to consumers or inducing guests to leave tips.

The hotel, which houses the restaurant Casa María, was his first establishment in Tulum, where he also has businesses such as the restaurant Tacos Papi, known as ‘the most expensive tacos in Mexico’.

How Did Roberto Palazuelos’ Empire in Tulum Begin?

According to actor Roberto Palazuelos on the podcast Entre Creadores, he was one of the pioneers in starting the Tulum tourism project, when the infrastructure of today did not exist.

“I arrived in Tulum 30 years ago. The road that is there now wasn’t there; it was a small one where, when you went to Tulum Beach and a car came from the other side, you even had to move over because it seemed like the side mirror would hit. When you arrived, there were 6,000 to 7,000 inhabitants in the small town. It wasn’t a municipality. At that time, that territory belonged to Cozumel,” he recalled.

Palazuelos claims that Tulum’s success lies in the fact that “a concept of little cabins emerged,” which “became more sophisticated” until reaching some of the highest rates, unlike other tourist destinations that do not have an attraction beyond the ordinary.

“Cancún doesn’t differ much from the Riviera Maya because they are the same big hotels with many large all-inclusive rooms and so on,” he stated.

Thanks to this, the ‘Black Diamond’ boasts, “Tulum came to have the highest rates in the state,” to the extent that he claims they are much more expensive than one in Cancún.

“I specialize in boutique hotels, and one of my rooms is worth as if they were eight or nine rooms in Cancún. It grew little by little; don’t think it was an overnight job,” he warned.

Moreover, the business turned out to be highly profitable for Palazuelos. According to his boasts, the square meter currently costs $2,700 USD (about $49,500 MXN), when he bought them in a range of between $30 and $40 USD ($550 to 730 MXN currently). “Very cheap,” he emphasized.

Although it might seem risky, Palazuelos boasts that he made the investment because he had privileged information: “When you have information about something that is going to happen, you can get ahead,” he boasted.

According to his comments, he knew that they had already authorized “building a highway, a mega highway from Playa del Carmen to Tulum,” so he set his plans in motion.

“I had this information 6 or 7 months before it started, and that’s when I began to be very aggressive in acquiring things because I said, ‘it’s coming this way.’ Just as it came from Cancún to Playa del Carmen, now to Tulum. Tulum is going to become the next tourist destination of Mexico and Quintana Roo,” he explained.

That’s when he applied an “aggressive” strategy to acquire the land. He approached the ejidatarios and fishermen to begin his purchases. He gave them a 20% advance of what they were owed, signed promissory notes, and settled through monthly payments.

“It honors me greatly to be a pioneer of Tulum, because that’s what I am; I’m not just a businessman in Tulum, but I’m a pioneer because I was one of the first to come do business there,” he recalled.

Currently, Roberto Palazuelos’ hotels in Tulum also include Ahau Tulum and Villa Pescadores, the latter under the concept of “rustic but elegant rooms” according to the businessman.