TORONTO — Talk about growth. Not even five years ago, Playa Hotels & Resorts had seven hotels. “Now we’re at 20,” says Rose Cosentino, Vice President of Sales – Canada for the company.
“Our growth is incredible,” said Cosentino at last night’s industry event in Toronto. Taking place at chic Arcane bar and restaurant on King St. West, and complete with a serve-yourself candy buffet, the reception brought Playa’s top travel partners to hear all the latest news and celebrate Playa’s success.
Playa’s Canadian team, including BDMs Amanda Morris (Ontario), Freddie Marsh (Western Canada) and Christian Roussin (Quebec & Atlantic Canada) joined Cosentino to host the event.
The highlight of the night for many agents was Playa’s Double the Points promotion, offering double points on all bookings to Playa’s five D.R. resorts as part of Playa’s agent loyalty program AgentCash Plus. Bookings must be made and registered by Dec. 15, 2019 for travel now through Dec. 20, 2020 to qualify. Agents can register at agentcashplus.com.
Playa has two new resorts opening in the D.R. in November 2019: Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana, for adults-only, and the all-ages Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana. There’s also Hilton La Romana, which is two resorts in one with an adults-only enclave within the all-ages resort. And Sanctuary Cap Cana just announced a US$44 million reno earlier this year. The luxury property boasts new suites, reimagined restaurants and an expanded spa.
With new resorts and multi-million dollar upgrades, Playa says its expanding its all-inclusive footprint in the D.R. The company’s partnership with Hyatt and Hilton will yield 1,400 new hotel rooms by year end.
It’s been a challenging few months for D.R. sales but the destination, always extremely popular with Canadians, is holding fairly steady from this market. “There was a slowdown in the D.R. but I think all our partners would admit to that,” says Cosentino. “We’ve also seen a rebound and that’s partly why we’re doing this event tonight, to show the destination some love.”
She added that “Canadians and Canadian travel agents are resilient. We tend to take things cautiously but we keep travelling.”
With the Double the Points promotion, agents can use their points for cash rewards, free nights or both, says Cosentino.
In addition to its D.R. resorts Playa also has seven properties in Jamaica, and eight in Mexico. “What makes Playa different is that we own our hotels and we operate them too. Not everyone can say that. The buck stops with us.”
After last night’s Toronto event the Playa team is now heading to Montreal and then Calgary and Vancouver, as part of a first-ever roadshow.
