Hyatt Buys Apple Leisure Group, 100+ Hotels

Do you have a list of all ALG's properties? Curious as to what they all are.

I find your reaction to be truly bizarre. It is a HUGE step for Hyatt because many of these properties are all inclusive resorts at great locations. While I love traveling to Europe and get very excited when Hyatt adds hotels in Italy or France, getting a long list of high quality all inclusive resorts available for points would get most Hyatt members excited.

By the way, your comment about CheapCarribean.com shows you ignorance. There’s nothing cheap about what they sell. It’s just a marketing ploy. They are one of the best sources of luxury resort packages.

@khatl: In Mexico/Caribbean, they are the following brands:

-Zoetry: luxury that kids can stay at but targeted to adults-only
-Secrets: luxury adult-only romantic
-Breathless: luxury adult-only social
-Dreams: upscale family-friendly
-Sunscape: budget family-friendly

The first three are huge to me as they are a great portfolio of adult-only/targeted all-inclusives that are way outside of what most people would consider all-inclusive. Looking forward to seeing what Hyatt does here.

@ Jason -- "There's nothing cheap about what they sell?" I'm seeing all-inclusive resorts for well under $100 per person per day. Honest question -- how much cheaper can all-inclusives get?

The high-end of the pricing of what I'm seeing in some destinations is a Planet Hollywood property that's all-inclusive. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but if that's the most premium property, and we're calling this an acquisition of "luxury resorts," maybe you can see where my skepticism comes from?

@Jason, I agree with your take on this as well. Ben's "meh" headline was kinda "meh". ALG is one of, if not the largest travel industry wholesalers in the world. Hyatt has been a travel agent friendly brand and now they just bought access to all those travel agents selling leisure travel through ALG. This will help funnel guests to current Hyatt properties and away from their competition. This is very exciting as it is going to flip the script. They didn't just buy AM Resorts. They bought a whole new business model.

Not sure I like this. Secrets, Zoetry & Sunscape properties were bookable using Choice Hotel points for between 40k-60k points per night. I planned to use the reminder of my Choice points for booking one of those properties in Mexico or Jamaica. I will assume Choice points will not be a option for booking these properties in the near future.

I'm not overly excited about this news but there are probably some interesting hotels hidden in the portfolio in Spain that might come in useful. I do wonder how Hyatt will approach the issue of the Secrets brand being couples only when they have been so LGBTQ+ friendly. Didn't Secrete continually have issues with this?

Funny to see various posts and comments in the travel blog sphere criticizing Hyatt acquisition.
Hyatt hired competent professionals assessing/reviewing these deals. They are far more knowledgeable than armchair commenters and travel bloggers who believe they know better how to run a Hotel group

@ Julia -- Did I, or anyone else, say that this was a bad investment? All I said is that I'm personally not excited about this as a consumer, based on my own travel patterns, and that Hyatt is spending a lot of money here. I think both of those are factually correct?

@ Christian -- Did they, that's interesting, as I don't think I've heard that before? Have they not been welcoming to LGBTQ couples, or?

You clearly have never stayed at an AMResort property. I think this another one of your ill-advised articles.

This is huge for Hyatt leisure travellers, espcially those with families.

Are you looking at the right group, Ben? These are not the Royalton properties under the Marriott umbrella. Go look at the Zoetry in Isla Mujeres or the one in Riviera Maya and let me know if those are still "cheap" to you. I'd go there in a heartbeat on points if I could.

Totally agree. Ben’s generally biased against all-inclusive (which is a great option for aspirational middle class consumers, in particular.) There are a ton of very amazing properties here. I’ve barely looked it over but am already excited about the top level “eco” brand available on Isles Mujares near Cancun and nice looking property near Tulum. The lower level properties will also be great for attracting younger families into Hyatt.

This acquisition locks Hyatt into a hot emerging market (maybe not to Ben’s bourgeois taste) and lowers Hyatt’s exposure to business travel which in the age of Zoom may *never* recover (at least proportionally).

Now if they just buy Motel1 in Europe (another one Ben will pan) and rebrand it to Canopy they will be set.

As for the cost… Hyatt’s money structure is completely different from most other public companies due to the Pritzkers. As long as they think Hyatt can afford it, Hyatt can. Pritzkers lose interest and Hyatt will be gone (acquired) - regardless of any acquisitions.

I have no experience with this but I thought they had issues in the past....maybe it was Sandals after all and not Secrets.

Resorts across all companies have had issues with this in Jamaica for a while, but Secrets has had no issues as a brand as far as I know of. Was looking at wedding venues for a gay wedding in Mexico and read nothing but praise for the Secrets location we looked at (Playa Mujeres).

I for one am super-excited about this. Previously, there were only a few upscale/luxury all-inclusives you could use Hyatt points at. Now there are dozens.

Short of buying Excellence Resorts or Velas Resorts, this is probably the best purchase they could have made to increase their luxury A-I portfolio (save for Sunscape). Having the additional booking methods and travel agent access, as TrvlGuru pointed out, probably sold this deal, but these resorts are the icing on the cake here for WoH members.

Agree. Terrible article and he’s getting more and more biased/entitled/opinionated/self-focused in his old(er) age (whereas IMHO he seemed a lot more balanced and objective in the past which is why I liked reading him). He and Gary L should pair up.

1) This seems like a macro call on growth of leisure travel, especially relative to business travel. Leisure travel appeals to all income levels, so if you want to get big in leisure travel, it can’t be all 100% super luxury.

2) I am not a big fan of all inclusive either, but it is a big segment

3) Folks like Ben should just focus more on cash bookings at high end, independent and boutique hotels. Loyalty programs aren’t going to be narrowly tailored to people’s tastes. Just book by specific location

Well the irony for me in this announcement, and the subsequent OMAAT article, it’s unreal.

Just got back from an “unlimited luxury” stay at Secrets Maroma (seemed like a good burn of sapphire points, last-min getaway). What a lousy letdown - the place was anything but relaxing but instead, an adult day care with cheap and cheesy amenities to say the least. Really opened my eyes into this segment of resorts (aside from The Excellence, which was very solid - I’ve never tried AM) - even with Hyatt’s management, I will steer clear.

I am not excited by this at all but if it’s makes some money for Hyatt, good for them.
People are being really funny when accusing Ben of not understanding how expensive or exclusive this or that all-inclusive property is. You all sound like someone excited about an Olive Garden attached to some expensive mall

I agree that this acquisition is not exciting to me. I don't care for all-inclusive properties, so I won't be interested in most of these properties. We travel to explore new places, eat delicious local foods and explore, all of these are generally harder with all-inclusive properties.

I have stayed at several Hyatt Ziva's and had wonderful experiences (especially the Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana). I wonder if Hyatt is going to rebrand most/all these all inclusives to Zivas or Zilaras. I have kids, I'm a globalist, and we love all-inclusives in the Caribbean, so this is an ideal acquisition for customers like me. These all-inclusives also compete directly with the cruise industry, which may take years to return to it's previous dominance, so I think it makes great financial sense for Hyatt to make this move.

@Christian (and Ben), Sandals was structurally homophobic in the past (as were all such resorts). They lost a discrimination suit in 2004 and were forced to accept gay and lesbian couples as guests.

I guess people are ignoring the elephant in the room.

What will Hyatt do with the non-property assets.
Hyatt didn't buy a hotel portfolio, they bought a tour and travel agent company. Apple leisure is a tour company with hotels not the other way around.

The real question is, will Hyatt be entering this market as a player or will they remain in the hotel business and break up ALG to pieces.

As a Globalist and a father of a 2 year old working on making another one, this is very exciting news for me. Any increase in Hyatt hotels in Mexico and the Caribbean is FANTASTIC. You complainers need to quit yer bitchin'. If it's so bad, go be loyal to Marriott.

Aren't all of the Ziva/Zilara properties owned/run by Playa Resorts? I would guess they would have some objections to using the same branding for these "new" properties, particularly since some are going to be directly competing with existing Ziva/Zilara properties.

Love Hyatt, but had high hopes for a different acquisition. I agree with your sentiments, very little to appeal to me. This is a big letdown because the one thing I don't like about Hyatt is its small footprint.

To play devil's advocate, maybe that's the point? Appeal to a new type of customer? Maybe they see the Covid writing on the wall for cruise lines and know that all-inclusive vacations will appeal to that customer. That industry won't be the same for years or decades, these types of hotels will appeal to someone unwilling to get on a cruise ship and risk the Coronavirus-Norovirus roulette but still want that type of vacation.

Would have loved for them to buy Excellence, its the only all-inclusive i will ever consider. Finest and Beloved are excellent (no pun intended) value and its a trip i like to make every year. Probably for the best that Hyatt did not buy them to keep Excellence Group a secret (again no pun intended either)

Am I missing something here? Why the negativity about this acquisition? People generally love Hyatt but say they lack the number of hotels in comparison to Marriot, Hilton and IHG. They just added about 100 properties that you'll be able to book with points. Pretty sure this isn't the last purchase Hyatt ever makes. Think of it this way, before yesterday Hyatt had 100 less properties than they do today.

Secrets is NOT couples only, it’s just a focus. I went solo last year to Secrets the Vine in Cancun and ocean skinny dipped with a gay gentleman from Texas and a 60-something lady who was there with a girlfriend. Very diverse crowd at Secrets - all-inclusive and people inclusive resort.

These places are NOT luxury. They're Days Inn Level resorts that happen to be on the beach. All-Inclusive is meh, but these are not luxury hotels. Words matter. I've been to Dreams for a friends wedding. It was the worst hotel I've stayed at in 10 years. A cheap Cruise Ship on the ground.

Makes Hyatt feel less desirable to me. Brand dilution.

Not available on their website?

Ehhh. No thanks. If the past acquisitions by Hyatt are any indication, this translates to 100+ more Category 7 or 8 properties that I’ll never stay at.

Benefits the Business traveler? No thanks, as I’m a 100% leisure traveler.

This seems like a quick fix for Hyatt Marketing to squawk about. Meanwhile, WoH members don’t see a reasonable benefit imho.

I think you should check out the newly opened Secrets in Puerto Vallarta. A friend recently stayed there and by her Snapchats and Instagram stories, it looked extremely upscale. I can understand not being thrilled about Dreams or Sunscape, but Zoëtry, Secrets, and Breathless I’ve heard very good things about, and all appear to be quite swank.

I wasn't a fan either of all inclusives. However the unlimited vacation brand of all inclusive resorts is definitely quality and a game changer for those that don't prefer them. ALG has resorts listed in Article secrets, dreams, breathless and more with partners.

This is not only brave on the part of Hyatt to invest a huge amount of cash, it does go to show that Hyatt is comfortable in charting a strategic course which would value add to their Brand portfolio and diversify the brand segments.

Strategic Indeed, was it right or wrong only time will tell.

Increase in Brand value and footprint, yes!

I stayed at Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita Riviera Maya last May. It was terrible stay, very slow service and seems unable to live up to 4 or 5 star reputation. Feel bad for friend who have wedding there and spent thousands but not getting what she pay for.

I'll give some all-inclusive resorts a chance though since it's sometime nice to WORRY nothing but chill, eat, drink, and sleep. Just hope services, etc will be better.

This acquisition will be very successful for them. Many people love their Ziva/Zilara all inclusive resorts. I wish they would add more European regular hotels though. Their footprint in Europe is still minuscule.

I think Ben is correct, I would never stay at an all inclusive resort either, ( remembering Club Med ) he’s merely pointing out a new business acquisition which in itself is great news.

I'm not particularly excited about Hyatt being 'asset-light' - that means they will have less and less skin in the game, and their whole thing becomes a marketing/booking service. Then when hotel operators decide they're going rogue, there won't be much Hyatt can do about it.

(Real life example: Marriott.)

Oh and second real life example all the crappy Hyatt properties that still 'can't serve Globalists breakfast because Covid.' I'm looking at you, Waikiki Centric of Cheap Owner.

I will say this again, how does this acquisition by Hyatt affect Choice Hotels. Currently, Choice Hotel points can be used to book this very same properties, usually ranging between 40k and 60k hotel points. I am curious to see how Hyatt prices this properties with regards to points.

JG,

I love Motel1 in Europe and they have been expanding at a fast clip. Great for short trips with affordable pricing in great central locations. Would absolutely love if they bought it but not sure I would want it to be rebranded to Canopy.

I am disappointed because the UVC I joined many years ago gave my husband and I affordable travel-not so much anymore as many of the hotels I visited have not stayed in the group and HYatt is so high end that we cannot afford to visit as often as we like. There are no perks to try to urge us into travelling and saving a few bucks- we are gold preferred but prices have gotten so inflated we will never be able to at least try a HYAtt hotel