Hyatt Hotels Corporation has a new joint venture with Grupo Piñero that will grow Hyatt's all-inclusive portfolio by 30%.
The new 50/50 joint venture will bring the Bahia Principe brand's properties — and the Cayo Levantado resort in the Dominican Republic — into Hyatt's Inclusive Collection, adding in total 23 properties with 12,000 rooms across the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica and Spain.
The transaction will be structured in a way to keep Hyatt's model asset light, according to a news release announcing the deal. Upon the deal's closing, the joint venture company will manage the 23 properties and own the Bahia Principe brand. Grupo Piñero will maintain ownership of the properties and will use proceeds from the deal to "enhance existing Bahia Principe resorts."
“The addition of Bahia Principe’s resorts to Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection will enhance Hyatt’s all-inclusive offering and strengthen our leadership position with one of the largest collections of all-inclusive resorts in the world,” Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said in the news release. “Grupo Piñero’s family business culture, shared values, and expertise in the four- to five-star all-inclusive category coupled with Hyatt’s leadership in luxury all-inclusive creates powerful opportunities across Hyatt’s business — for guests and World of Hyatt members seeking quality all-inclusive experiences across stay occasions, and for hotel owners who can benefit from the network effect of more travelers within the portfolio.”
No financial details were announced for the deal, and closing is expected "in the coming months subject to customary closing conditions."
Hyatt executives have made growth in the all-inclusive segment a priority in recent years, as they transitioned to an asset-light business model and looked to expand their offerings to leisure travelers. The 2021 acquisition of Apple Leisure Group positioned the company as the largest brand operator within the space, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The company has broadly used the proceeds from real estate sales — selling more than $3.6 billion in owned hotels since 2019 — to grow its fee-based brand management and franchise business, most recently buying lifestyle hotel company Standard International.
Encarna Piñero, global CEO of Grupo Piñero, said the deal "represents a clear path to build on [the company's] success and growth strategy for the future."
“Bahia Principe has experienced rapid growth since the opening of our first property in the Dominican Republic nearly 30 years ago," she said in the release announcing the deal. "Throughout our journey, we have maintained our core beliefs as a family-owned business, always being faithful to our purpose of seeking to generate a positive social and economic impact for the local communities of the destinations in which we operate. We appreciate and recognize these values in Hyatt’s purpose of care and look forward to the next chapter in Bahia Principe’s bright future.”