Your father’s Barcelo brand? It’s changing. Meeting with a few journalists last week, Juan Perez Sosa, senior v.p. of sales & marketing Barcelo Hotel Group, explained how Barcelo is integrating last year’s acquisition of Occidental Hotels. Just for starters, he explained, “we’re changing from one brand [Barcelo Hotels and Resorts] to a multi-brand group.” Notice that subtle change in the new corporate title?
“We now have 104 hotels in 19 countries with 33,000 rooms,” said Perez, and the new branding will help agents and the public sort them out. This sorting out is not entirely reflected on the website yet, so pay attention.
“Royal Hideaway, ‘the art of fine moments,’ is our luxury brand,” he said, and it aims to give guests the sense of being in a fully staffed condo or villa rather than a hotel. For example, Royal Hideaway Playacar, the flagship property, is a AAA four-diamond resort and member of Leading Hotels of the World. Some of the hotels currently under the Barcelo brand may be converted to Royal Hideaways, and you can expect most—but not necessarily all—of them to be adults-only all-inclusives.
The properties bearing the actual Barcelo name range from multi-hotel all-inclusive complexes like Barcelo Bavaro Grand Resort in the Dominican Republic to urban hotels, particularly in European cities. They’re mostly family-oriented, but some also offer amenities aimed at business travelers and at millennials, as exemplified by the fashion-forward B-Rooms in some of the properties. The brand’s mission at all Barcelo properties is to offer an upscale experience that is reasonably priced.
Occidental Hotels and Resorts features a mix of urban and resort properties including adults-only and family-oriented properties, all-inclusive or not. The resorts offer substantial adventure and experiential travel options, from diving to cultural immersion. Perez hinted that some of the Barcelo properties may be converted to Occidental hotels.
Perez characterizes the Allegro Resorts as “affordable family” getaways, although they also appeal to couples. These Cozumel and Playacar properties strive to make any young and youngish guest happy by creating a sense of energy and offering plenty of activities: land and water sports, a Kids Club and Teens Club, a water park, games, entertainment, a variety of restaurants, and more.
For more information, visit barcelo.com/barcelohotels/en_us/home-barcelo-hoteles.aspx or the newly revamped Barcelo Agents portal at barcelo.com/barcelohotels/en_us/empresas/home/default.aspx.
