Hyatt & Bahia Principe Joint Venture For All-Inclusive Resorts

Hyatt has really been expanding in the all-inclusive space. Several weeks ago, the hotel company announced a deal that will see its all-inclusive portfolio grow by around 30%. There’s now an update, as the agreement has been finalized, so we have more details about what we can expect.

Hyatt & Grupo Piñero launch all-inclusive joint venture

Hyatt and Grupo Piñero have entered into a long-term, asset-light, 50/50 strategic joint venture based in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. With this, the joint venture manages Bahia Principe-branded hotels and resorts, and owns the Bahia Principe brand.

The transaction has now closed, and financial details of the deal haven’t been made public. Bahia Principe’s CEO, Julio Pérez, will continue to lead th enew management company.

With this development, 23 resorts with over 12,000 rooms are joining Hyatt’s portfolio. These Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts properties are located in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and Spain. The deal also includes Cayo Levantado Resort in the Dominican Republic. All of these properties will be added to Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection.

We can expect that Bahia Principe properties will join World of Hyatt, meaning members can earn and redeem points, and take advantage of elite perks. However, even with the deal having closed, the timing of that remains to be seen. For now we’re just being told that details will be shared at a later date.

Once the properties are integrated, this will expand Hyatt’s all-inclusive room portfolio by around 30%, and enhance Hyatt’s position as one of the leading providers of all-inclusive offerings across the world. Money from this deal is being used to “enhance existing Bahia Principe resorts.”

For Grupo Piñero, this joint venture builds on the company’s success in all-inclusive hospitality with a robust European customer base, and is expected to provide expanded opportunities with travelers in the Americas and other important markets.

Here’s how Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian describes this deal:

“This joint venture with Grupo Piñero enhances Hyatt’s all-inclusive platform across multiple dimensions: more rooms, an expanded portfolio and more offerings on more stay occasions for guests and World of Hyatt members. Grupo Piñero has built an exceptional family legacy over the past 50 years, and together we look forward to driving sustainable growth and innovation within the all-inclusive space.”

Meanwhile here’s what Grupo Piñero CEO Encarna Piñero had to say about partnering with Hyatt:

“It is a great honor for Grupo Piñero to embark on this long-term alliance with Hyatt—a groundbreaking model for both companies that promises significant benefits and advancements for our respective strategies. We are confident that the combination of our decades of experience as leaders in the all-inclusive sector in the Caribbean and Hyatt’s extensive global all-inclusive platform and systems will drive success for our joint venture.”

Lastly, here’s what Bahia Principe CEO Julio Pérez had to say:

“I am excited to lead this strategic joint venture with Hyatt as we work to expand the Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts brand. Together, we will leverage our strengths to offer an unparalleled all-inclusive experience that will attract travelers from around the world. This milestone marks an important step for our company, and I am confident that this collaboration will help us to continue raising the quality and service standards of the hospitality industry.”

This is great for those who like all-inclusive resorts

To Hyatt’s credit, it’s really impressive how the hotel group has grown in the all-inclusive sector in recent times. While Hyatt had a small number of all-inclusive properties going back several years, this growth really started when Hyatt acquired Apple Leisure Group in a $2.7 billion deal, adding over 100 all-inclusive resorts to Hyatt’s portfolio.

That momentum has continued since then, and the all-inclusive space continues to be a big focus for Hyatt, as is evident based on this latest joint venture. So for those who like all-inclusive properties, Hyatt really is becoming the brand to be loyal to.

Even beyond all-inclusive resorts, it seems like Hyatt is leaning heavily into the lifestyle and leisure crowd when it comes to growth, based on the recent acquisition of Dream Hotel Group, and Hyatt taking over Mr & Mrs Smith.

Even though all-inclusive resorts largely don’t appeal to me, I can still appreciate how this is exciting to many consumers, and it’s great for the loyalty program, in terms of creating redemption opportunities that many families value.

My only frustration, really, is that I feel like Hyatt’s growth in the leisure and all-inclusive sector is coming at the expense of growth in the more traditional luxury sector. It just feels like Hyatt’s luxury hotel footprint is growing at a glacial pace, and we’re not seeing many exciting announcements on that front.

Admittedly it’s a tough time for new hotel developments. Developers don’t have much appetite for newly built properties at the moment, given interest rates and general uncertainty. That’s why we’re seeing the major hotel groups lean so heavily into acquisition of existing brands, or conversion opportunities.

Bottom line

Hyatt has formed a joint venture with Grupo Piñero, to take over management of Bahia Principe all-inclusive resorts. This consists of 23 properties in the Caribbean and Europe, and expands Hyatt’s all-inclusive room count by around 30%.

More hotels options are a good thing, though all-inclusive properties like this tend to be quite polarizing. I’m all for more options for earning and redeeming points, I’m just kind of sad by the lack of other interesting openings.

What do you make of Bahia Principe joining World of Hyatt?