Hyatt Continues to Stockpile Arms With $2.6 Billion Playa Hotel Purchase – (And Other Thoughts)

tl;dr – After a few months of negotiations, Hyatt entered into an agreement to purchase all-inclusive resort specialist Playa Hotels for 2.6 Billion.

Big news out of Hyatt today as it officially announced it’s purchase agreement for Playa Hotels & Resorts at a cost of 2.6 billion dollars. This follows a few months of reports indicating a finalized deal was imminent. Now we have one.

In the past, when covering Hyatt’s updated Brand Explorer, I’ve touched upon how the company’s recent acquisition spree makes it the 2004 Lloyd Banks of the hotel industry – Hyatt is seemingly always ready to gobble up another hotel portfolio, particularly if it’s an all-inclusive one.

BTW, if this is you right now ↓, give yourself a pat on the back.

Trigger warning: That won’t be the only hip-hop reference in this post.

If you’re unfamiliar with Playa Hotels, similar to another past Hyatt entrée – Apple Leisure Group – Playa Hotels operates several all-inclusive resorts in the ‘sun and fun’ hotbeds of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. While the purchase price of this deal might open some eyes, I instead want to focus on two other aspects of this deal – 1) Hyatt’s apparent strategy to corner the all-inclusive market and 2) two intriguing properties that will be coming into Hyatt’s portfolio after this acquisition is complete.

Hyatt is Truly ALL-in on Inclusivity

Hyatt recently made an internal push to ‘simply’ its brand assortment to increase focus on its strategic endeavors in the marketplace. Dropping the MBA synergy speak, Hyatt did a simple reorg and now categorizes its 33 (!) brands into five core categories: Luxury, Lifestyle, Inclusive, Classics, and Essentials.

Interestingly, the Inclusive line has the second most (eight) brands of all Hyatt’s categories, trailing only the Lifestyle vertical (nine) – an area that Hyatt has long been vocal about its desire to double and triple down on. However, even this tally is deceiving. Despite seeking simplicity in this reorganized brand chart, there are actually ten all-inclusive brands in the Hyatt portfolio, two of which are currently hiding in other categories. Impressions by Secrets is an all-inclusive Luxury brand, while Breathless Resorts & Spas is an all-inclusive Lifestyle brand. If we call a spade a spade, Hyatt now has ten all-inclusive brands, the most brands of any other hotel category in its portfolio.

This Playa Hotels acquisition wasn’t entirely unexpected – in fact, it was predictable. Here again is a look at the list of Playa Hotels and Resorts. Notice anything?

Many of these hotels are already participating in the World of Hyatt program, which means Hyatt members can earn and redeem points for stays at participating properties. The threads were already there.

When we consider some of Hyatt’s future or impending plans, things get really interesting. I recently wrote about Hyatt’s strategic partnership with Bahia Principe – another chain of all-inclusive hotels with locations in Spain, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. (Bahia Principe’s footprint greatly overlaps with the portfolio Hyatt absorbed via the Apple Leisure Group deal.) In weeks (or maybe months), Hyatt will welcome 22 Bahia Principe all-inclusive properties into its portfolio and the 15 not-yet-participating properties from Playa Hotels. That’s 37 new all-inclusive resorts – crazy. Have we called the regulators about this? Should we write our congress members? Wait, which party was for small government again?

The natural question is, what are the other four core chains doing about this? In many ways, this feels like an arms race. Will Marriott, Hilton, and IHG stand by while Hyatt crisscrosses the Atlantic and gobbles up everything in sight?

Well, we’ve seen some signs of life thus far. For a few years now, Marriott has partnered with Royalty Resorts to make many of its properties available to Bonvoy members for points earning and redemptions. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some wet-ink-dry on a formal acquisition agreement between those two entities at some point. IHG has made moves through its alliance with Iberostar, welcoming a solid 50 properties into its points world.

But honestly, these responses feel like the squeals of a small dog when we’ve already heard a big dog’s bark. In many ways, Hyatt’s launching into a career-defining rap battle, where one participant will go on to release a few albums and headline one of the biggest stages on earth, while the other(s) will recede into the shadows to enjoy peameal bacon sandwiches, poutine, and maple syrup.

The latest Hyatt news did get me wondering—if some other players wanted to make a splash, how would they do it? What other compelling chains are still out there to acquire/partner with?

I’m glad you asked. There are six attention-grabbing targets (two that feel like acquisitions and three that would likely be partnerships). Some would be downright shockers.

• To start, there’s The Palace Company, a chain of 17 properties in Mexico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Italy (through its subsidiary, Baglioni Hotels and Resorts). What’s notable about The Palace Company is that its properties are very highly rated and a bit more upscale. This would be a splashy get, though not the sheer numbers.
• Keeping with the smaller-shop-yet-intriguing footprint – I present to you Sandos Hotels & Resorts. Four resorts in Mexico, six in Spain – this wouldn’t be the flashiest purchase but nails family-friendly-mid-upscale-all-inclusive on the head.
• How about Sandals? If you’re like me, hearing ‘Sandals’ (and its subsidiary Beaches) conjures a memory of some mid-90s – early 2000s commercial, promising sun, and possibly some risqué fun as you dance the night away on a conga line. With 20 resorts across the two brands covering islands like Saint Vincent, Curacao, Antigua, Grenada, Turks and Caicos, Saint Lucia, Bahamas, and Barbados – any would-be partner/acquire would at least break the Jamaica/Dominican Republic/Mexico mold that’s come to be synonymous with all-inclusive.

These next three are massive companies, so I’m unsure how feasible an acquisition might be. A partnership, if sensible for both sides, could be industry-shaking.

• Club Med—A leader in the family-friendly all-inclusive sector, French-owned Club Med has 70 properties worldwide and a diverse portfolio. With ski resorts, chalets, and the like, it’s not just fun and sun, and that’d be quite a get.
• Riu—With over 105 hotels in 19 countries, Riu is a Spanish family-owned chain that specializes in all-inclusive resorts, though it also has a solid urban footprint. Over the years, it’s been popular with ‘spring breakers’, but the quality of its resorts has slowly improved over time, and thus, its familiarity with different types of travelers continues to grow.
• Barcelo – Barcelo, another Spanish family-owned chain, has over 300 hotels in 30 countries. It’s a top 30 hotel chain worldwide, and with destinations in countries such as Sri Lanka, Turkey, Cape Verde, and Tunisia, there’s true uniqueness to its portfolio. It also is another leader in the affordable all-inclusive category. While there’d be a lot to figure out here, as the brand recognition isn’t quite as strong as it is with Club Med and Riu, it could be a winner if we’re talking sheer numbers as the goal.

What say you? Do we see Marriott, Hilton, or IHG respond with any ammo in the coming months/weeks/years?

I’ll go on record and say that within the next 12-18 months, one of Hilton, IHG, and Marriott (my vote is on Hilton) will strike a deal with one of the five brands I’ve identified above.

The Playa Hotels I’m Watching Post Acquisition

As you may have noticed in the Playa Hotel portfolio graphic I shared earlier, some of the hotels that aren’t already affiliated with World of Hyatt are currently part of another major hotel chain platform—namely Hilton and Marriott. Of course, we’d expect that to change by the time this deal is complete.

I’m not usually a fan of all-inclusive stays, but two properties caught my eye, and they’re both currently part of Marriott’s Luxury Collection:

• Paraiso de la Bonita, a Luxury Collection Resort, Riviera Maya, Adult All-Inclusive
• Sanctuary Cap Cana, a Luxury Collection Resort, Dominican Republic, Adult All-Inclusive.

Paraiso de la Bonita

Paraiso de la Bonita (“Beautiful Paradise,” in case you’re wondering) is a brand new addition to the Marriott portfolio as of a week ago! The hotel was built in 2001, has 100 rooms, and is located on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, only 20 minutes from Cancun International Airport. As the hotel operated independently for many years before closing for renovations (presumably as part of its acquisition by Playa Hotels), there are already thousands of reviews from its pre-Bonvoy life, and it’s rated decently well on average.

Early reports from the first few Bonvoy guests suggest the new regime is up to good things, so if they can keep up this flair after the Hyatt-Playa Hotels deal, I’d be interested in checking this property out. Given its history as an independent hotel and the fact that it is currently nestled within Marriott’s top-tier soft band, I’d similarly expect this to be relabeled as one of Hyatt’s non-core brands – think “Paraiso de la Bonita an Unbound Collection Hotel.”

Sanctuary Cap Cana

Sanctuary Cap Cana is one of two Luxury Collection hotels in the Dominican Republic—the other is The Ocean Club, a Luxury Collection Resort—and it’s located in the upscale Cape Cana neighborhood of the larger Punta Cana region.

An adults-only property, the Sanctuary Cap Cana boasts 324 suites, a big part of Marriott’s luxury hotel footprint in the Dominican Republic. I reference this piece on new hotel openings coming to the DR in 2025. Notably, the property made waves in 2022 when it opened as it was the first Luxury Collection all-inclusive property in the entire portfolio. The property features many different accommodation types – from private villas with butler service to standard junior suites with swim-out castles.

Reviews float around 4.4-4.5/5 for this property. Still, as an all-inclusive offering butler service with some accommodations, it’s probably fair to say some folks’ expectations will be greatly met. Others might not, given that the property is attempting to play in different waters simultaneously. While it gives off ‘resort’ vibes if you’ve booked a stay there, you should be aware of this and at least be mindful of all that might entail. I plan to be in the Dominican Republic later this year, so I may try to stay a night post-acquisition. The photos look nice.

Conclusion

Hyatt’s multiyear acquisition spree continues, and it’s having no problem executing the all-inclusive part of its expansion strategy. It remains to be seen how the other major hotel chains will respond, if they do at all. This latest deal with Playa Hotels will presumably include the coup of two super intriguing high-end properties from Marriott’s Luxury Collection. While they were already on my radar as Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite, I’m even more excited to check them out as a Hyatt Globalist. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!