All-inclusive resort operators are welcoming the growing demand of leisure travelers seeking vacation experiences that are safe after a year of being stuck at home.

As the U.S. and other countries continue with vaccination efforts, more people appear ready to travel this year, trying to find the right balance in an accommodation that provides a full vacation experience while letting them stay socially distanced from others.

While down compared to 2019 levels, demand for all-inclusive resorts certainly has been growing, said Alejandro Reynal, president and CEO at Apple Leisure Group. The amount of demand varies by destination, with certain spots in Mexico and the Caribbean proving to be more attractive because of how familiar people are with the locations as well as the travel restrictions in place.

The current trend in booking is short-term deals, he said. Guests are making their decisions within a week or two of their trips. As more people get vaccinated and the number of COVID-19 cases come down, more people will return to booking trips farther out, he said, adding that would likely start in the third and fourth quarters of 2021.

When travel started coming back little by little, consumers were asking for the things Karisma Hotels & Resorts' all-inclusive properties could offer, said Marilyn Cairo, vice president of global sales for Premier Marketing Worldwide, which assists Karisma with marketing. They wanted swim-up suites, multiple dining options and beaches, allowing guests to safely stay socially distanced while enjoying their stay.

The company has been transparent with its travel partners, sharing the highlights of the resorts and educating them, she said, adding that business reputation is key. The size of resorts has also been a selling point, as no property has more than 600 suites.

Throughout the pandemic, "the big-box hotels didn’t fare very well while the smaller, intimate property has,” she said.

Now more than ever, the global demand for all-inclusive resorts is accelerating, said Laurent de Kousemaeker, chief development officer for the Caribbean and Latin America at Marriott International. Marriott Bonvoy members are asking for premium luxury, worry-free vacations with brands they recognize, he said.

Marriott is relatively new to this space, having launched a portfolio of all-inclusive resorts with extensions of its already existing brands at the end of 2019. The portfolio gained resorts over the last year, including 19 resorts by conversion through a partnership with Sunwing Travel Group.

People around the world are eager to travel so they can see their family, celebrate special occasions, explore new places and do all of the other things they had to put on hold, de Kousemaeker said.

“As soon as it’s safe, we know that the leisure travel customers are ready to explore and rediscover the world,” he said.

Typically, guests of all-inclusive resorts value entertainment and food and beverage the most, Reynal said. While the same is true during the pandemic, how those are delivered is changing.

Excursions traditionally also have been a popular part of a resort vacation, but during the pandemic many guests have chosen not to venture outside of their resorts, he said.

“Nowadays they just want to get to the resort and be in the safe environment, so they don't tend to leave,” Reynal said.

This can lead to more opportunities for outdoor open spaces, outdoor fitness options and new technology added to rooms, he said.

When researching the all-inclusive space, de Kousemaeker said Marriott officials learned that guest engagement at any price point is “very strong.” All-inclusive resorts aren’t competing just with other hotels or resort experiences. These are vacation experiences, making cruise lines a competitor as well.

“We understood that this space was different, not just from the physical side of things, but really from that programming experience,” he said.

To keep guests safe at Marriott's all-inclusive resorts, the properties do not have self-serve buffet options. Instead, they offer single-serve, a la carte and plated options prepared by a hotel server. The company also modified its restaurant setups and floor plans for social distancing.

When coming up with the Peace of Mind protocols, Karisma’s team found much of what it needed to do to keep guest spaces clean was already being done, said Elizabeth Fettes, chief marketing sales officer for Karisma at Premier Marketing. On top of the cleaning and sanitation efforts, the resorts had several smaller restaurants with intimate settings that had tables spaced apart, not a mass cafeteria setting.

“What changed for us was using it as a sales tool, using it as a communication piece because that’s what was being asked by the market,” she said.

Looking ahead to new properties or renovation projects, Karisma will listen to guests asking for more higher-end options that can accommodate longer stays or more space, Fettes said. Guests want bigger balconies, bigger terraces, swim-up suites, outdoor dining, private butlers by the pool and private cabanas near the pool, she said.

“We're going to see how the resorts develop, not just from an operational side, but also from an infrastructure side,” she said.

New all-inclusive resort openings will slow for a while, Reynal said. The projects that had already received financing will move on to become completed projects, but new financing through equity or debt will be more difficult because of the pandemic, he said. That won’t become apparent this year or next, but after there will likely be a slowing down on new openings.

As demand grows for all-inclusive resorts, however, competition will increase among those already in the space as well as those relatively new to this segment, such as Hyatt Hotels Corp. and Marriott, he said. What that provides is more awareness of the all-inclusive offer, which in his perspective is a positive thing.

“It is going to provide a good exposure to the category,” Reynal said. “If I increase the number of people that are willing to try the experience, I therefore increase the addressable market for the hotels playing that space.”

In its research, Marriott found there are approximately 430,000 rooms in the all-inclusive space worldwide, de Kousemaeker said. Of those, 325,000 are branded. About 55% are in the Central America and Latin America region, and 50% of that supply in the region is in the Caribbean with 40% in Mexico. It is because those two areas make up so much of the supply that Marriott wanted to make its entry there, he said.

Looking at the quality of the all-inclusive products, the majority of these rooms globally are in the midscale or upper-midscale segments, he said. Marriott is positioning its all-inclusive resorts as extensions of its already existing upper-upscale and luxury brands. The 19 Sunwing Travel Group resorts converting to Marriott’s Autograph Collection fit in the upper-upscale segment.

Within the upper-upscale and luxury segments, at the beginning of the next quarter Marriott’s presence in the global all-inclusive space will be ranked at the No. 2 spot, de Kousemaeker said. Marriott lost a lot of time doing its due diligence as it prepared to enter this space, but the company doesn’t jump into things without being ready and having its infrastructure in place, he said.

“Our point of view is now we're prepared to really make a big move and disrupt and position ourselves as leaders in the segment,” he said.