San Francisco Frontiers - Cali's love motels adapt to host UN summit delegates

Like other visitors to the Colombian city, his hotel booking fell through, and Rwetsiba had to make last-minute arrangements.

With traditional hotels bursting at the seams, hourly rate motels came to the rescue of stranded delegates like himself.

Showing AFP around his room in the Motel Deseos (Desires), the delegate points to the big double bed, walk-in shower and an unusual feature: a ceiling mirror.

Some of his clothes are draped on hangers from the shower screen, others are folded up in a small cubicle with one door inside the room and another that opens on the hallway.

Usually rented out for a few hours at a time, there are no wardrobes in the rooms. And the double-doored cubicle is for staff to pass drinks to guests seeking seclusion.

"I'm not sure whether I've got the full understanding of what a motel should be, but I have seen some unique features... Like the mirror on the ceiling. I have never seen (that) in a hotel," Rwetsiba told AFP.

He also pointed to the lone wall socket next to the bed, rather than by the table where he needs to power his laptop.

"So the setup is quite different," he said. "I have never seen a hotel with each room having a parking yard," each enclosed, with a private door leading straight into the room.

- Bursting at the seams -

Motel Deseos manager Diana Echeverry proudly showed AFP around the facility, with 40 rooms spread over two floors, and one wing set aside for a dozen COP16 delegates.

In the rest of the building, rooms feature such amenities as Jacuzzis, "kama sutra" loungers and dance poles.

"We have adapted our establishment a little in order to be able to host the guests of COP16 and foreigners," Echeverry told AFP.

Contacted at short notice by local authorities, she said, the motel quickly worked out a daily rate -- 150,000 Colombian pesos (about $35) per night -- and introduced a breakfast service.

Room prices usually range from 65,000 to 100,000 pesos for three hours.

Staff also "took out the love swings, 'love machines,' Kama Sutra chairs and left the rooms without those kinds of items," said Echeverry.

The biodiversity summit has been good for business, she added.

"It has ensured that the (delegates') rooms are occupied during those days and... the remaining rooms now rotate much more to meet the demands of our usual guests."

Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder told reporters this week the city's hotels were "100 percent" full, with Airbnbs, houses and apartments also rented out.

Initial expectations had been for between 12,000 and 15,000 people to attend the COP16, but in the end, there were closer to 23,000 registered delegates, said Eder.

According to Cali's Chamber of Commerce, there are 166 registered motels in the city -- more than anywhere else in Colombia.

Like elsewhere in Latin America, motels are generally places go to for a few private hours with a lover.

In Cali, they boast names such as "Kama Sutra," "Cupido" and "Extasis."

Delighted with the amenities at Motel Deseos, Rwetsiba said he informed other colleagues, and there were now five Ugandan delegates in rooms "more comfortable" than many traditional hotels.

"It's... spacious. That's why we are here. We are not complaining," he said with a big smile.

"We are all happy."

F.Garcia--SFF