9. All-inclusives up their game
Sandals Ochi Beach Resort
The evolution in all-inclusives continues unabated. Sandals Resorts unveiled the ‘new’ Sandals Ochi Beach Club in April, as the former Sandals Grande Riviera Resort re-opened after US$60 million worth of work. Sandals Ochi Beach Resort has reinvented the 100 acres at Ocho Rios; 529 villas, luxury rooms and suites have been transformed.
Agents also got a look at Sandals Barbados, the $65 million resort opened in January in vibrant St. Lawrence Gap, just 15 minutes from the airport. Sandals capped off the year with its ‘Game Changer’ agent presentations, showcasing everything from ‘Honeymoon Hop’ to ‘Test Drive’.
Other big names in all-inclusive game are growing in leaps and bounds. The Canadian market is up more than 10% for RIU Resorts and the RIU Specialist program, launched in Canada last year, has been a big success. The resort company’s contest for top-producing agents wraps up Dec. 31. Riu Playacar in Playa del Carmen reopened this fall and Riu Lupita reopened just a couple of weeks ago. New resorts for 2016 include the 452-room, adults-only RIU Reggae in Jamaica and the adults-only RIU Republica in the D.R.
The resort chain is expanding its portfolio at a rapid rate of growth and with so much interest from source markets including Canada, the U.S., Europe and Latin America, “I think we’re going to keep on this expansion course for a while,” said Oliver Kluth, Riu’s Senior Vice President, Sales & Business Development.
AMResorts is also on a tear. With the addition of Sunscape Dominican Beach Punta Cana and Sunscape Bávaro Beach Punta Cana, AMResorts will have nearly 60 resorts in 26 destinations and more than 20,000 rooms throughout Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America by the end of 2018.
“The unprecedented pace Apple Leisure Group has set with the volume of transactions completed in 2015 confirms that our vertically integrated approach to providing comprehensive luxury leisure vacation experiences brings our owners success,” said Alex Zozaya, CEO of parent company Apple Leisure Group.
In 2015 AMResorts and its six brands added seven destinations to its portfolio, breaking company and industry records for the most deals incorporated by a single hotel chain in the Caribbean and Central American region in under a year.
