Hyatt completes Playa acquisition; no word on asset sales

CHICAGO — As expected, Hyatt Hotels Corp. has completed its $2.6 billion acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V., which dramatically expands Hyatt’s all-inclusive portfolio in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. 

This transaction includes the acquisition of 15 all-inclusive resorts previously managed and owned by Playa. There was no announcement of any real estate sales of the properties with Tuesday's news, which is expected to be announced after the acquisition was finalized. Hyatt said said earlier this year that it expects to fund 100% of the acquisition with new debt financing and pay down over 80% of the new debt financing proceeds from asset sales.

“As we welcome Playa into the Hyatt family, we are strengthening our leadership in the all-inclusive space through a combination of new locations, capabilities, and talent,” Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt, said in a news release.

Hyatt is not buying Playa to sell two of the 15. They want to sell the vast majority of the real estate. So, is it 12 hotels? Is it 13? Is it 15? I hope it’s somewhere in that range and not six, seven or eight [of the hotels].

Michael Bellisario

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Hotel Investment Today interviewed analyst Michael Bellisario of R.W. Baird last week, who talked about the next shoe to drop after the acquisition was completed — the asset sales that will fund a great deal of this purchase.

“Hyatt is not buying Playa to sell two of the 15,” he said. “They want to sell the vast majority of the real estate. So, is it 12 hotels? Is it 13? Is it 15? I hope it’s somewhere in that range and not six, seven or eight [of the hotels].”

Bellisario said the working assumption is that there are deals out there that will be announced soon after the Playa acquisition, but no one knows the timing.

“Our understanding, our reading of the body language — and Hyatt is obviously keeping it close to the vest — is that there is a deal in hand to be signed, probably to be announced when the deal is closed,” he said.

The real estate sales will help everyone do the math on how this deal is ultimately perceived, Bellisario added.

The primary motivation of acquisition of Playa, Bellisario said, is to flip the below-market franchise agreement to a market value and allow Hyatt to charge a higher per-room management agreement while also extending the contracts, especially for the Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara properties, which are roughly 70% to 75% of the revenues, fees and EBITDA for Playa.

Conversions to Hyatt

Earlier this week came reports that Hyatt had already converted six of the properties to the Hyatt flag, four of those came over from Hilton and one of them came from Wyndham (there is a detailed list of the 15 properties at the bottom of this story).

Eight of the 15 properties were already represented within Hyatt’s system as Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara properties.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the Playa team into the Hyatt family – a move that not only strengthens our position as a global leader in all-inclusive, but also builds on our momentum in the segment,” said Javier Águila, president, Inclusive Collection for Hyatt. “Spending time with the Playa team over the past several months has confirmed a deep cultural alignment and shared commitment to excellence.”

Hyatt’s all-inclusive growth partnership began with Playa in 2013 with the launch of the Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara brands and accelerated with Hyatt’s acquisition of Apple Leisure Group in 2021. In 2024, Hyatt further expanded its portfolio through a strategic joint venture with Grupo Piñero for Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts.

This acquisition is a natural evolution of our longstanding relationship with Hyatt, and we’re confident these outstanding resorts will continue to flourish under its leadership.

Bruce Wardinski

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“Playa has spent nearly two decades building a reputation for delivering outstanding all-inclusive experiences,” said Bruce Wardinski, departing chairman and CEO of Playa Hotels & Resorts. “This acquisition is a natural evolution of our longstanding relationship with Hyatt, and we’re confident these outstanding resorts will continue to flourish under its leadership.”

Hyatt said it intends to provide additional financial information about the transaction during its second-quarter 2025 earnings conference call.

BDT & MSD Partners served as lead financial advisor to Hyatt, with Berkadia serving as Hyatt’s real estate advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as Hyatt’s legal advisor.

During its first-quarter earnings call in May, Hoplamazian said the company issued $1 billion of senior notes and closed on a $1.7 billion delayed-draw term loan for the deal.

List of the Playa properties

Here is a list of the 15 Playa-owned properties in Bellisario’s note. 

Playa hotels already Hyatt branded (total of 3,153 rooms)

• Hyatt Ziva Cancún (Mexico - Yucatán Peninsula) — 547 rooms
• Hyatt Zilara Cancún (Mexico - Yucatán Peninsula) — 310 rooms
• Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos (Mexico - Pacific Coast) — 591 rooms
• Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta (Mexico - Pacific Coast) — 335 rooms
• Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana (Dominican Republic) —375 rooms
• Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana (Dominican Republic) — 375 rooms
• Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall (Jamaica - Montego Bay) — 276 rooms
• Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall (Jamaica - Montego Bay) — 344 rooms

Playa hotels converted to Hyatt (2,339 rooms)

• Wyndham Alltra Cancún (Mexico – Yucatán) — NOW Peninsula Sunscape Cancun Resort & Spa — 458 rooms
• Hilton Playa del Carmen All-Inclusive Resort (Mexico – Yucatán) — NOW Peninsula Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen — 524 rooms
• Hilton La Romana All-Inclusive Resort (Dominican Republic) — NOW Secrets La Romana Resort & Spa — 356 rooms
• Hilton La Romana All-Inclusive Resort (Dominican Republic) — NOW Dreams La Romana Resort & Spa — 418 rooms
• Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa (Jamaica - Montego Bay) — NOW Dreams Rose Hall Resort & Spa — 495 rooms
• Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa (Jamaica - Montego Bay) — NOW Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa — 88 rooms

Playa hotels that are still unchanged

• Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen (Mexico - Yucatán Peninsula) — 287 rooms