Another day, another all-inclusive brand getting gobbled up by a major U.S. hotel company — but this one signals the upscaling push is working in this sector once dominated by Sandals and spring breakers.
Hyatt plans to acquire Playa Hotels & Resorts for $2.6 billion, the company announced Monday morning after first signaling last year a deal of some kind was in the works. The takeover means Hyatt — which already has a 9.4 per cent stake in Playa — will further expand its all-inclusive resort network in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
“Hyatt has firmly established itself as a leader in the all-inclusive space, a journey that began in 2013 through an investment in Playa Hotels & Resorts that launched the Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara brands,” Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian said in a statement. “We have respected and benefitted from Playa’s operating expertise and outstanding guest experience delivery for years through their ownership and management of eight of our Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara hotels. This pending transaction allows us to broaden our portfolio while providing more value to all of our stakeholders through an expanded management platform for all-inclusive resorts.”
Hyatt plans on maintaining its asset-light strategy for real estate — becoming operators rather than owners of the properties — and expects to find buyers for Playa’s owned real estate. The company expects to make at least $2 billion by 2027 from shedding ownership of these resorts.
The deal is the latest chapter of several years of Hyatt making further inroads into luxury, lifestyle and the all-inclusive resort space.
Acquisition history
The company acquired Apple Leisure Group — owner of brands like Secrets, Dreams and Breathless — in 2021 for $2.7 billion. Further, Hyatt announced a new, 50/50 joint venture last year with Grupo Piñero, owner of the Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts portfolio, that expanded Hyatt’s all-inclusive reach by 30%.
Hyatt’s push into upscale all-inclusive resorts is even reflected in its recent regrouping of brands in its World of Hyatt network. While there is a dedicated “Inclusive” bundle where a bulk of Hyatt’s all-inclusive brands like Hyatt Ziva and Secrets are parked, there are a few all-inclusive brands in other brand tiers.
Impression by Secrets — where rates at Impression Isla Mujeres by Secrets currently start at $1,108 per night — is now clustered in Hyatt’s luxury tier of brands that also includes Park Hyatt, Alila, Miraval and the Unbound Collection.
“They're carving out like a little niche within that all-inclusive space,” Katie Johnson, vice president and global brand leader for Hyatt’s luxury brands, told Hospitality Investor in a conversation at the recent Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) about the company’s luxury portfolio. “It'll be fun to watch that brand grow, especially in Latin America but even outside of Latin America.”
Breathless Resorts & Spa is part of Hyatt’s recently beefed-up lifestyle collection of hotels, which encompasses brands like Andaz and Thompson Hotels and will soon feature the Standard International family of brands.
The all-inclusive push in the luxury sector isn’t limited to Hyatt. Accor’s all-inclusive resort network includes Rixos Hotels, a luxury brand the Paris-based hotel giant plans to grow to 100 properties by 2027. Accor’s ALL Inclusive Collection encompasses Rixos, SO/ and Swissotel and will eventually features Hyde, Mondrian, SLS and Fairmont. Marriott, which has become one of the largest operators of all-inclusive resorts, now features all-inclusive options for its Luxury Collection and W Hotels brands.