From ultra-luxury to fractional ownership to upscale boutiques, hotel opportunities abound in BA.

Foreign buyers. Global brands. Mega-deals. Few sectors of the local economy can compete with the luxury hotel business for headlines and superlatives. Coveted parcels are the object of bidding wars, while others are selling for as much as $21 million.

Today Cronista gives a sweeping analysis of el sector hotelero in both Argentina and Uruguay while highlighting emerging trends like condo-hotels, green projects and fractional ownership. Brazil may be hosting the World Cup in 2014, but by then Argentina will have a leg up in terms of luxury properties.

Alvear will christen not one but two new BA hotels, a St. Regis will rise in Puerto Madero, Nordelta will welcome an InterContinental and, as discussed in April, several new luxury boutiques will open in Palermo and Recoleta. Major chains are also capitalizing on the sheer beauty and natural amenities in destinations like Iguazu (Hilton, Loi Suites), Bariloche (Sofitel), Cordoba (NA Concepts), Brandsen (HoJo) and Tandil.

And while the four and five-star projects generate the most PR, the most active sector in terms of units under construction and fractional units for sale is the Sub-4 (star) sector. For a good example of the type of income-producing luxury condominium hotel opportunities awaiting foreign investors today and foreign travelers tomorrow, download IncomeBA.