Commentary

Hyatt Goes All-In On All-Inclusive

It might have seemed surprising when Hyatt purchased the Apple Leisure Group (ALG) in 2021. Hyatt is a widely known hotel company with its core brands in the upscale and luxury categories, while ALG was known for a sprawling collection of all-inclusive resorts, with multiple brands under the AMResorts umbrella. Hyatt had entered the all-inclusive space a while back with its Ziva and Zilara brands, but this deal brought a whole new scale to its portfolio.

Hyatt clearly saw opportunities in the all-inclusive arena and thought this kind of rapid growth was the way to go. The next step was letting consumers know the company was in the all-inclusive business in a significant way with the newly named Inclusive Collection -- now including nine brands --  and redefining the properties as an upscale luxury product. It was a tall order -- but less than a year out, things seem to be going smoothly, according to two executives involved with the mission.

First, the reasons behind the deal. Amy Weinberg, senior vice president, loyalty brand marketing and consumer insights for Hyatt, said it was clear that leisure travel has proven to be incredibly resilient over the past two years, and all-inclusive is a fast-growing format in the resort space in key markets. Moreover, Hyatt guests were saying they liked the option of having the guesswork taken out of their vacations. These trends made it an ideal time for Hyatt to make a transformative move in the luxury all-inclusive space.

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A focus of the marketing drive was the World of Hyatt loyalty program. Loyalty programs are all about offering strong reward incentives -- and luxury all-inclusives in desirable locations can certainly do so.

Consequently, World of Hyatt  introduced a new all-inclusive award chart to familiarize new and existing World of Hyatt members with the earning and redeeming structure at Hyatt all-inclusive resorts as the first wave of AMR Collection properties joined the program in April. To get the word out about these changes, as well as the creation of the Inclusive Collection in May, said Weinberg, “we used a multichannel marketing approach (social media, email marketing, etc.) to ensure members were aware of the new properties and award chart changes.”

In addition to World of Hyatt’s membership benefits, AMR Collection’s existing memberships and benefits, including the  Unlimited Vacation Club, (UVC), will continue to operate independently from World of Hyatt, Erica Doyne, senior vice president of marketing and communications for AMResorts, said. UVC remains the exclusive membership club for AMR Collection, and members will continue to enjoy discounted rates and other benefits at AMR Collection properties.

As many European resorts are expected to join the World of Hyatt soon, said Doyne, the program will bring more value to UVC memberships as well as to the benefits members enjoy as UVC club members. And ALG’s 110,000 UVC members will get the opportunity to sample World of Hyatt loyalty member benefits at more than 1,150 hotels.

And since travel advisors were a key market for AMResorts, Hyatt has sought to maintain that connection. According to Doyne, advisors can book travel for their clients directly with AMR Collection or Hyatt and customers who are World of Hyatt members will earn rewards points at Inclusive Collection hotels. Bookings made directly in Hyatt’s channels will be eligible for registration into AMR Collection’s travel advisor loyalty program, AMRewards.

Uniting AMResorts brands with Hyatt to create the Inclusive Collection,  said Doyne, “has allowed us to reimagine the all-inclusive model and has provided an opportunity to expand and reach new audiences and demographics. “

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