When the fifth annual Ascend by ALGVacations took over the Cancun Convention Center—and many nearby hotels—on Oct. 19 and 20, its audience of 650+ travel advisors were left with plenty of food for thought and one important message: ALGV’s success starts with them.
Since purchasing ALGV and Amstar DMC, parent company Hyatt Hotels has put property development into overdrive and taking advisors along for the ride.
“When you win, we win and vice versa,” Hyatt president and CEO Mark Hoplamazian remarked to the audience of advisors. “We serve over 170,000 advisors using ALGV… in 2022 alone, we paid over $250 million in commissions, rewards and technology. We have absolutely kept our foot on the pedal to maintain our platform’s excellence.”
The pedal has been pushed to the metal on hotel development as well, particularly when it comes to all-inclusive properties in the Caribbean. Following its recent purchase of ALG’s AMR Collection brand portfolio—which comprises about 100 hotels and resorts operating in 10 countries as well as a pipeline of 24 executed deals in the Americas and Europe —Hyatt now offers one of the largest collections of luxury all-inclusives in the world, including such new destinations for the brand as Acapulco, Curacao, the Canary Islands, Minorca and St. Martin.
“When we were brought in, it seemed to be a natural progression and a natural relationship for us,” noted Jacki Marks, ALG’s executive vp. “We have so many connections in hotels. Group is the fastest-growing segment of our business,” she said, adding, “Bleisure is a big thing for us… people going to destinations where they want to stay pre and post.”
ALGV’s group president, Ray Snisky, also emphasized the importance of the group market following the partnership with Hyatt Hotels. “The initial drive to merge came from the hotel side and my relationship with Mark (Hoplamazian),” he said. “We’ve had four times the growth of luxury travel, and meeting facilities have risen to a new level.”
New Level of Luxury for All-Inclusives
A major goal for ALGV is upgrading both the quality and image of all-inclusive properties, and they’re starting big in Mexico.
“‘All-inclusive’ used to mean cheap booze, tacos and hot dogs, but this isn’t your father’s all-inclusive anymore,” Snisky said. “We have the service level to meet the expectations of luxury travelers. The bar is continually rising. But even high-end travelers are also looking for value,” he added.
A perfect example of where ALGV is heading can be seen at Impression Isla Mujeres by Secrets, where luxury suites overlooking the Caribbean come with a private butler and onsite restaurants are helmed by world-class chefs. You won’t find a buffet line here, but you will find a wine cellar chef’s table and elegant Asian and Italian restaurants. (Look for our onsite review in the January issue of Recommend)
Hyatt’s all-inclusive footprint is growing in Europe as well, with five all-inclusive resorts due in Black Sea destinations by 2024, and the first Dreams Resort & Spa on the Portugal island of Porto Santo also planned for 2024.
For more information, visit alg.www.vaxvacationaccess.com.
