After developing its luxury offer through acquisitions - Kimpton, Six Senses, Regent - in recent years, the IHG Group is strengthening its position in another area. booming market segmentall-inclusive hotels. To expand its footprint in this market, the British group has not proceeded with a takeover as previously, but with a commercial agreement with a specialist in this fast-growing model, Spain's Iberostar. This long-term strategic alliance will give rise to a new brand, Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, the British hotel group's eighteenth brand.
The Iberostar Beachfront Resorts offer will include almost 70 leisure establishments, still owned by the Spanish group, but which will benefit from the commercial strength of IHG, for the first ones from next December. " Over the last few decades, Iberostar has successfully built up a leading presence in the following markets all-inclusive beach hotels in the Caribbean, the Americas, Southern Europe and North Africa, and we are delighted at the opportunities we have to develop the brand's presence together." said Keith Barr, CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts.
All-inclusive resorts often suited to MICE
The involvement of the British group, which has 250 resorts in its portfolio, but only around twenty in popular areas for all-inclusive holidays, comes as no surprise. With lifestyle and coworking, the all-inclusive offer is one of the major trends that is driving the major hotel groups. The last few months have seen a number of announcements about this attractive 'no surprises' offer, with all costs included.
While these resort hotels target leisure customers, eager for a holiday in the sun after months of restrictions, they also target business tourism to sustain their activity in the low season. In fact, most of thesehese establishments are ideal for incentive breaks or seminars in the fresh air with large accommodation capacities, a host of bars and restaurants, all the beach and sports activities you need, and often vast areas dedicated to events, from weddings to conventions.
Among recent moves in the all-inclusive sector, Spain's Melia created a joint venture with Falcon's Beyond at the end of the summer to roll out a new brand, Falcon's Resorts by Meliá. in the world's major leisure markets, starting at the end of 2022 with the Dominican Republic and Falcon's Resort by Meliá | All Suites in Punta Cana, the result of the transformation of two hotels in Melia's Paradisus brand, before other expected openings in Tenerife in 2024 and Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, in 2025.
Earlier in the year, in May, Accor also announced the launch of its All-Inclusive Collection. The aim is to establish a foothold in this market, the French group plans to draw on the expertise of the Rixos brand, joined the Group in 2017 and a specialist in top-of-the-range resorts through its ultra-all-inclusive concept. Its latest opening, the Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi, gives an idea of the expertise of this Turkish group, partner of Accor. This vast complex, with its grandiloquent architecture, boasts an abundance of rooms and restaurants, activities and entertainment galore, a VIP welcome area with a dedicated jetty, and a MICE area of more than 2,800 m2 with 15 meeting rooms and a 1,250 m2 ballroom.
Accor, Hyatt, Melià and others
Through its All-Inclusive Collection, Accor first intends to pursue the development of Rixos, whose network is set to double in size to 50 hotels worldwide. But the French group's all-inclusive offensive is part of a multi-brand strategy. As part of this, all-inclusive versions of its luxury and top-of-the-range brands Fairmont, Sofitel, Pullman, Swissôtel and Mövenpick are due to appear shortly. The announced objective is to inaugurate around a hundred leisure complexes in the next five years, particularly in the Caribbean and South-East Asia.
Among the world's leading hotels, Marriott and Hilton have been positioned in this segment for longer. Since 2019, Marriott has been formalising in a multi-brand collection its all-inclusive beach resorts, of which there are now around thirty. In the same way, Hilton recognises, by affixing "an All-Inclusive Resort" after the name of the hotel, those that offer these all-inclusive packages among all its brands. This offer continues to grow, with the Hilton Tulum All-Inclusive Resort in Mexico in the pipeline, following on from the recent opening of a Curio Collection resort in Curacao and the Hilton Cancun 'an All-Inclusive Resort'. A 715-room and suite establishment with all the gastronomic and leisure experiences you could wish for, as well as over 6,000 m2 dedicated to events.
However, the group that best symbolises this accelerated move towards all-inclusive leisure is undoubtedly Hyatt, following its acquisition of the Apple Leisure group in 2021. This $2.7 billion operations has enabled the American hotelier to encompass a key player in the top-of-the-range all-inclusive sector, with around a hundred resorts grouped together under the AMR Collection. Under six brands - Secrets, Dreams, Breathless, Zoëtry, Alua and Sunscape - these establishments have been added to the Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara brands to create a dedicated offering, the Inclusive Collection.
This collection, which is widely represented in Mexico and the Caribbean, is now going to be extended to the rest of the world.xport to Europe this model, which is very popular across the Atlantic. While the Dreams brand is already present in Spain and Greece, a new resort is expected in Portugal in 2024, on the island of Madeira, the Dreams Madeira Resort Spa & Marina. And in Bulgaria, five hotels are set to appear on the shores of the Black Sea between 2023 and 2024 under the Secrets, Dreams, Alua and Breathless brands.
