I wrote in December that Hyatt was in talks to acquire Playa Hotels, which owns 24 all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Hyatt already had a 9.99% stake in the company which operates under the Hyatt Zilara, Hyatt Ziva, Hilton All-Inclusive, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Wyndham Alltra, Jewel Resorts and The Luxury Collection brands.
They’ve come to terms, and Hyatt will acquire all outstanding shares of Playa Hotels at $13.50 per share, valuing it at $2.6 billion inclusive of $900 million debt. That’s a 40% premium over the company’s market cap prior to revealing talks over the sale. Hyatt plans to sell the physical hotel properties, and they anticipate this will generate approximately $2 billion by the end of 2027. The non-Hyatt branded properties seem likely to convert to Hyatt brands over time.
This deal comes on top of recent acquisitions:
- Two Roads Hospitality (2018) adding brands including Joie de Vivre, Destination, Alila, and Thompson Hotels
Thompson Savannah - Apple Leisure Group (2021) significantly boosting its presence in premium all-inclusives in Europe and the Americas.
- Dream Hotel Group (2022): adding Dream Hotels, The Chatwal, and Unscripted Hotels.
- Mr & Mrs Smith (2023): the UK-based booking platform for boutique and luxury independent and small-chain properties worldwide.
- Me and All Hotels (2024): from Lindner Hotels.
- Standard International (2024): including The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels brands, and even management of a coffee chain and iconic Austin Motel.
Two years ago Hyatt introduced a separate award chart for all-inclusive hotels (though not all all-inclusives are part of this chart). Since the pandemic they’ve pivoted to premium leisure, of which all-inclusives are a large part. Their premium focus has its roots pre-pandemic, however, and even pre-Two Roads Hospitality acquisition. They saw the opportunity with Miraval to learn and lean into lifestyle to generate outsized revenue for their product.
Moreover, through World of Hyatt’s focus on elite benefits and member experience, they’ve hit far above their weight both with customer loyalty and co-brand credit card performance. That’s actually why their lackluster integration of Mr and Mrs Smith has been so concerning – a huge step-down from their previous partnership with SLH Hotels – redemptions through this platform are low value and that follows the shift to low value redemptions for Destination Residences and now a low value partnership with Venetian and Palazzo Las Vegas.