Hyatt Hotels Corporation has expanded its all-inclusive resort portfolio across Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico as it completed the acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. and its 5,779 hotel rooms for US$2.6 billion ($412.41 billion).

The deal was completed on June 17 with Hyatt acquiring seven resorts in Mexico, four resorts in the Dominican Republic and four resorts in Jamaica. Eight resorts were already under the Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara brand with some resorts under the Hilton and Wyndham brands being rebranded to Hyatt owned brands.

The Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa in Montego Bay, Jamaica was rebranded to Dreams Rose Hall Resort and Spa on June 11 while the two Hilton La Romana resorts in the Dominican Republic have been rebranded to the Secrets La Romana and Dreams La Romana. The Hilton Playa del Carmen All-Inclusive Resort and Wyndham Alltra Cancún in Mexico have been rebranded to the Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen and Sunscape Cancun. The Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen in Mexico and Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa continue to retain their current branding. The Jewel hotel brand was created in Jamaica under Sagicor Group Jamaica’s hotel portfolio.

“Playa has spent nearly two decades building a reputation for delivering outstanding all-inclusive experiences. 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,” said founder and departing chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Wardinski in the press release.

The transaction was priced at US$13.50 per share which was a significant premium to the sub US$10 share price before the announcement that Playa was entering exclusive strategic discussions with Hyatt. HI Holdings Playa B.V. previously owned 12,143,621 ordinary shares of Playa or 10.22 per cent of the company before the transaction. Sagicor Financial Company Limited (SFC) received an estimated US$147.84 million based on it owning 10,951,451 ordinary shares at an average price of US$4.8452.

Hyatt partially financed the deal by issuing two US$500 million bonds at 5.050 and 5.750 per cent interest rates which mature in 2028 and 2032, respectively. Hyatt then entered into a credit agreement with a syndicate of lenders for a US$1.7 billion delayed draw term loan facility. Hyatt’s acquisition of Playa’s ordinary shares was valued at US$1.60 billion.

Playa expects to reduce the debt used to acquire Playa through the sale of Playa’s 15-owned resort properties or real estate to different third parties. That process is expected to net US$2 billion in proceeds by the end of 2027 and shift Playa to Hyatt’s asset-light business model. Hyatt expects Playa’s asset-light earnings to exceed 90 per cent on a pro-forma basis in 2027.

Playa’s ordinary shares were suspended from trading prior to June 16 as Hyatt began the subsequent offering period to acquire the remaining 7.3 per cent of shares it didn’t already own. Playa formally submitted a request to the Nasdaq on June 6 to voluntarily delist its ordinary shares.

Hyatt extended the original April 25 closing date to May 23 which was then extended to June 9. The acquisition was approved by the Federal Competition Commission (Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica) in Mexico on June 5.

Playa’s first-quarter report (January to March) revealed that its consolidated revenue declined by 11 per cent to US$267.29 million as it experienced a dip in package revenue at its Jamaican and Pacific Coast, Mexico resorts. Operating profit dipped by 27 per cent from US$90.30 million to US$65.60 million. However, a dip in the company’s tax bill saw its net profit decline 21 per cent from US$54.34 million to US$43.13 million.

The Jamaican business saw its owned net revenue decline by 19 per cent from US$64.64 million to US$52.45 million which it attributed to the travel advisory impact. The owned resort EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) also dipped 28 per cent from US$24.80 million to US$17.82 million. The net package ADR (average daily rate) moved from US$567.95 to US$467.60 while the net package RevPAR (revenue per available room) moved from US$465.35 to US$392.69. Playa’s Jamaican property, plant and equipment (PP&E) was worth US$418.63 million as at March 31.

Playa sold Jewel Paradise Cove Beach Resort & Spa in Runaway Bay, St Ann to the TUI Global Hospitality Fund for US$28.5 million and received a net amount of US$27.6 million which resulted in a loss on sale of US$0.7 million. TUI Global expects to reopen the resort as the Royalton CHIC Jamaica Paradise Cove in late 2026.

Playa’s asset base stood at US$1.86 billion with US$1.38 billion in PP&E and US$265.40 million in cash. Total liabilities was US$1.33 billion with US$1.07 billion of debt and US$529.73 million in shareholder’s equity.

“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. Playa’s all-inclusive management platform complements Hyatt’s global scale and brand strength, enabling us to deliver compelling experiences for guests and members while driving strong performance for owners,” stated Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO of Hyatt.

Hyatt has been expanding its all-inclusive portfolio in recent years with the hotel brand and management company acquiring Apple Leisure Group (ALG) and Dreams Resorts and Sunscape Resorts brands in November 2021. Hyatt also paid US$465 million or €419 million (J$71.98 billion) for its 50 per cent stake in Management Hotelero Piñero, S.L., a joint venture with Grupo Piñero that owns the Bahia Principe brand and manages the 22 Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts-branded properties across the Dominican Republic, Spain, Mexico and Jamaica.

Despite the company’s ambitious growth strategy, Hyatt has lowered its 2025 outlook following recent booking trend data observed in the last two months. It lowered its net income target from US$190-US$240 million to US$95-US$150 million, gross fees target from US$1.20 billion to US$1.19 billion and adjusted EBITDA from US$1.10 billion to US$1.08 billion.

Hyatt’s first-quarter revenue was US$1.72 billion with net income attributable to shareholders at US$20 million. Adjusted EBITDA improved five per cent to US$273 million with US$153 million in cash flow from operations. Hyatt’s stock price closed Tuesday at US$136.02 which leaves it down 13 per cent year to date with a market capitalisation of US$12.98 billion.