Hyatt has made no secret of its desire to establish itself as the key player in the resort segment worldwide. Through acquisitions and partnerships, the group has built up a dominant position, with a portfolio of more than 150 establishments, many of which are focused on a single destination. top-of-the-range all-inclusive offer. The 2021 takeover of the Apple Leisure had already brought under its wing around a hundred leisure hotels under the Secrets, Dreams, Breathless, Zoëtry, Alua and Sunscape brands. The recent acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts has strengthened its network in the Caribbean, while a joint venture with Grupo Piñero has added five Bahia Principe hotels in Spain.
As a result of all these developments, Hyatt now has around fifty resorts in Europe, spread between Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria and Spain, which has become the group's leading market on the Old Continent in terms of number of rooms. But while this expansion is aimed primarily at leisure travellers, the business clientele has not been overlooked, and is even essential to the business of the resorts in low season and off-peak periods. With its four swimming pools, for example, but also its seven restaurants and almost as many bars, or its 360 rooms, the Dreams Madeira presents itself as a prime location for seminars and incentive breaks on the Portuguese island off the Atlantic coast.
For its part, the Zoëtry Mallorca, in the centre of the main Balearic island, brings a 'slow luxury' atmosphere to business events. Set in an estate built in the XIVe century, the hotel has a number of reasons to appeal to organisers, starting with a a conference centre that can accommodate up to 250 people, and above all atypical locations - a neo-Gothic chapel, a private windmill and its gardens - to host exclusive events. " By capitalising on MICE opportunities, we have extended the seasonal nature of the hotel, which is now open for almost 10 months out of every 12.says Manuel Melenchon, General Manager for Southern Europe at Hyatt. Zoëtry Mallorca saw a number of privatisations and car launches last year" .
However, while the resorts in Hyatt's Inclusive Collection attract seminars, conferences and incentive trips through all-inclusive packages Offering predictable budgeting, its other leisure establishments are also popular with MICE customers. For example, the Grand Hyatt La Manga Club boasts 600 m² of meeting and events space, complemented on the activity side by a complex comprising three golf courses, 28 tennis courts and eight football pitches. Or the luxurious Park Hyatt Marrakech The 1000 m² pavilion is entirely dedicated to welcoming MICE groups.
Urban expansion focused on luxury and lifestyle
But the American group's proposals can also be more urban, as illustrated by the opening last year of the Grand Hyatt BarcelonaThis 465-room and suite flagship is designed for both short breaks and business events. The 3,400 m² MICE area will include 22 meeting rooms and venues to suit all types of event, from the 15 m² Kitchen Room to the 864 m² Living Room.
In parallel with its acceleration in the leisure hotel sector, Hyatt has not forgotten to extend its network in European cities. This year, Hyatt Regency to set up in RomeThe new hotel will be built near Termini station, within the former Radisson Blu Es. This 230-room hotel will boast one of the city's largest rooftops, with a bar, restaurant and semi-Olympic swimming pool, as well as over 1,000 m² of indoor and outdoor meeting space on two floors. Another new establishment, the Hyatt Regency Zadar, in Croatia, is converting a former maraschino distillery - this liqueur originated in the city - into a contemporary hotel with 133 rooms and suites offering four meeting rooms, including a ballroom with a capacity of 365 people.
In the luxury and lifestyle hotel sector, the other spearhead of the American group's development, a new Thompson hotel will open in Spain next year, in Seville, following the one opened in Madrid in 2022. Before then, in the third quarter of this year, the Andaz brand will have established itself on the French market. in the heart of LisbonAt the crossroads of Augusta and do Comercio streets, the Hyatt group will be building a 169-room lifestyle hotel in the former offices of one of the country's leading banks, Banco Portugues de Investimento. Also in the Portuguese capital, the Hyatt group has another project in the pipeline, a hotel called The Standard, taking advantage of this recently acquired brand to set up in the Alfama district.
With its network already well established in Southern Europe, could the Hyatt group follow the same path as in France or the United Kingdom, i.e. start from scratch? conquering secondary towns such as the Hyatt Place recently opened in Rouen and Leeds or the Hyatt Centric in Reims? It's more than possible, according to Manuel Melenchon: " We are looking at opportunities for the brands in our Essentials portfolio, such as Hyatt Place and Hyatt Select, not only in Spain, in cities such as Valencia, Zaragoza and Bilbao, but also in Italy and Turkey." .
