Dreams Madeira Resort, Spa & Marina – Family Pool in Portugal
Hyatt’s Growth and All-Inclusive Focus
Hyatt has reported a 1.6% increase in its Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) for the second quarter, compared to last year. Additionally, Hyatt has expanded its room offerings by 11.8% and projects a net income of $135-165 million for the upcoming year. The company is also planning nearly $300 million in dividends and buybacks for its shareholders.
Loyalty Program Success
Hyatt’s World of Hyatt loyalty program continues to be a key driver of its success, earning recognition from Conde Nast Traveler and U.S. News & World Report. This loyalty program is highly valued by members, offering a unique award chart to track points needed for rewards. It also provides elite status members with exclusive benefits, including the ability to gift status perks to friends and family.
The All-Inclusive Advantage
Hyatt’s all-inclusive resorts are a major growth focus, setting them apart from competitors.
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Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall in Jamaica
Hyatt has seen unprecedented growth in the all-inclusive resort space, following acquisitions of brands like Playa Hotels & Resorts and Apple Leisure Group (ALG), and coming later this year Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts as part of a joint venture with Spain’s Grupo Piñero. This is also a key reason for Hyatt’s positive economic growth, and Travel Weekly reports that its all-inclusive RevPAR has grown by 6% with bookings for the third quarter of the year up by 5%.
Mark Chesnut, a travel industry journalist who spends a lot of time in the Caribbean and Mexico, says Hyatt has become a powerhouse in the all‑inclusive segment.
Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic
This positioning is unique for Hyatt, which has an overall property portfolio that is dwarfed by giants like Marriott and Hilton. And it is key for the brand, especially at a time when transient traveler business remains flat, if not declining slightly.
“Hyatt is banking on the strength of this market,” says Chesnut. “Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection commands a powerful presence today in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.”
Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta
Earlier this summer, Hyatt completed its takeover of Playa Hotels & Resorts, which it then quickly turned around and sold. Hyatt is well-known for managing properties, but remaining asset-light when it comes to real estate. Skift’s Sean O’Neill reports that this asset-light model helps Hyatt reach its goal of securing 80-85% fee-based earnings from its managed hotels.
Eight of the 15 hotels under Playa’s purview were already part of Hyatt’s all-inclusive Ziva and Zilara brands. And now the remaining seven can join the portfolio under different brands.
According to Hyatt’s Mark Vondrasek, adding more all-inclusive hotels into its own mix gives Hyatt the opportunity to shuffle some of the additions into new brands so that they more closely tie up with their offering.
The wedding chapel at Zoëtry Mallorca Balearic Islands, which is also home to a Michelin-starred restaurant
World of Hyatt has eight brands in its all-inclusive fold, more than any other hospitality company. Led by Javier Águila (who comes to Hyatt from Apple Leisure Group), these operate in different price and value propositions with some that are unique in the industry. For example, Zoetry Wellness & Spa Resorts leans into the well-being and retreat aspect of resorts. Everything is carefully tailored around this angle from healthier menu designs to a focus on exercise and mindfulness (and purposefully away from the party vibe familiar at other all-inclusives).
Miraval The Red Sea will open later this winter in Saudi Arabia.
This is in addition to Hyatt’s current partnership with the Miraval brand, which has plans to expand to a new, adults-only resort with residences along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea in the coming months.
Hyatt Vivid has its own adults-only niche, which targets millennial and Gen Z travelers with more youthful activities and onsite programming. The first resort recently opened in Punta Cana and focuses heavily on creating a more social and design-centered vibe.
The Dreams resort in Portugal is designed to look like a Madeiran village, complete with waterfront chapel (a real church around which the property was eventually constructed).
Among its most exciting is the Dreams portfolio, Hyatt’s largest in the all-inclusive collection, which expands beyond Mexico and the Caribbean to include properties across Europe. Its newest openings cover Madeira in Portugal and join a wide network of resorts across the Spanish islands as well as in Greece and Bulgaria.
Dreams Madeira Resort, Spa & Marina opened in late 2024 with a new 10,000 sq ft spa opening this summer. Like other Dreams properties, it leans heavily into local experiences, which helps to attract a new tier of customers to all-inclusive resorts.
A craft cocktail bar at Dreams Madeira Resort, Spa & Marina in Portugal
Gone are the days of gigantic buffets of mass-produced food and generic revue-style shows. In their place are gourmet restaurants (on Madeira, expect pan-Asian, French, Mediterranean and Portuguese outlets) and live music (including fado performances and a historic Catholic chapel that hosts weddings).
All-inclusive resorts of today are certainly not the same cookie-cutter product of decades past. And since Hyatt’s properties fit into its award chart (the only major hotel loyalty program to still use one), the growing number of redemptions have helped boost membership numbers in the program.
Hyatt Centric Playa del Carmen
NerdWallet’s Sally French highlights Hyatt’s latest earnings report that shows an 8.6% year-over-year jump in net room revenue, with occupancy climbing 3.1 percentage points to 75%.
“That’s a sign that travelers are leaning hard into those ‘leave your wallet in the room’ or no-planning-needed types of vacations,” says French.
Noting such brand diversity in the all-inclusive segment, Chesnut eagerly adds “It will be interesting to see what their next steps are…we’ll likely see even more growth in new destinations.”
World of Hyatt fuels growth
Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme
Vondrasek says Hyatt now counts nearly 60 million members in its World of Hyatt program with strong growth especially in Europe.
Laurie Blair, vice president of global marketing for Hyatt, now has World of Hyatt under her leadership and is laser-focused on making it a relevant, experiential-based brand that resonates with consumers. When she took on the role earlier this year, she spent time with top-tier elites of the loyalty program to learn what was most important to them.
French adds that World of Hyatt is a favorite of travelers, according to NerdWallet research. “Hyatt’s popularity is fueled by its reliable award chart that makes it a dream for finding sweet-spot redemptions and instant Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers that can pad your program balance.”
The Standard Ibiza debuted a limited-edition, bespoke Burberry pattern this summer on its rooftop pool deck.
A target for her is growing the number of difficult-to-recreate experiences that are attainable by redeeming points. These include auctions where members can use their Hyatt points to pay for complete hotel buyouts and luxury getaways. Among them was an invite to the DJ-fueled Burberry brand takeover event at The Standard Ibiza’s rooftop pool and a $5,000 retail credit or a stay for two people at New York’s The Manner complete with wellness experiences like facials, massages and sound bathing.
Reese’s Book Club and Hyatt’s new Under Canvas partner brand brought together travelers this summer for “Camp Unwritten,” a glamping experience centered around discussing books around the campfire and outdoor adventures.
Under Canvas’ five “Grand Circle” camps across Utah and Arizona are the first-ever DarkSky-certified resorts in the world.
Blair says she hopes to get together with more elite status members to learn about what is important to them this year, perhaps at an Under Canvas get together.
This year, the loyalty program has added new hotel brands to the earning-and-redeeming structure, including Bunkhouse Hotels, The Standard and The StandardX. All of this is on the heels of last year’s integration of Mr & Mrs Smith.
An outdoor cafe at Dreams Madeira Resort Spa & Marina
She acknowledges that not every change is going to be popular with members, like the recent update to the program’s partnership with American. Previously, elite-status travelers of either program that linked their accounts could earn American miles or Hyatt points on a reciprocal basis when doing business with either brand. This turned out to be too generous.
But, there are other changes that are just the opposite. World of Hyatt is one of the few programs that allows members to gift or share their elite status and awards with friends and family. This idea gives members the opportunity to “show off” their Hyatt elite status and encourage other people to understand the perks of membership.
Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa in Colorado
Milestone Rewards, another benefit added in recent years, gives members a choice of perks for different milestones they reach based on the number of stays or nights they have within the calendar year. Rather than wait to reward members once they reach the next elite tier, which can take awhile, Milestone Rewards gives benefits along the way. This helps to incentivize future business, but members must be fast to redeem them within the three-month window after they are achieved.
Another key focus for many hospitality brands is the world of co-branded credit cards. For Hyatt, it only has two cards at the moment, one for consumers and another for business owners. Blair hints that some potential changes are in the works although had no details to share at press time. For years, Hyatt has partnered with Chase Bank for its credit card portfolio.
Luxury demand continues
The new Park Hyatt Marrakech is the third property for the brand in Africa.
The push for higher-end accommodations, especially those rooted in local experiences, continues. Savills points to ongoing interest for these types of hotels and foresees a nearly 53% increase in Europe alone by 2028. Hyatt is perfectly positioned for this growth since nearly 70% of its portfolio sits within the luxury and upper upscale segment. In less than a decade, Hyatt as more than doubled its portfolio of luxury hotels.
This includes flagship brands like Park Hyatt, which have opened new hotels in Kuala Lumpur, London and Marrakech in the past year among others.
And while categorized as one of Hyatt’s classic brands, Hyatt Centric is playing a starring role in this upscale growth. These properties sit in prime locations whether downtown or near major destinations and showcase individual style.
The lobby lounge at Hyatt Centric Chicago O’Hare
This year’s openings include properties at Chicago O’Hare Airport and in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Victoria, British Columbia in Canada. In the coming years, new hotels will open in Cairo, Santo Domingo and Shanghai. China and India, in particular, will factor into this growth with two hotels coming next year in Bangalore and properties in Changsha and Chengdu, China.
By 2028, the brand will grow by more than 50% with a particular focus in the Asia-Pacific region, which is where many hospitality brands are seeing the strongest demand.
Among the newest brands is Unscripted by Hyatt, a collection of hotels that launched this year within Hyatt’s “essentials” brand. More than 40 properties are in talks with Hyatt currently to join it although none has been announced just yet.
A guest room at The Standard London
The lifestyle portfolio, which also sits within the luxury tier of hotels, is seeing 50% year-over-year growth. A lot of this success comes under new leadership from Amar Lalvani, who comes to Hyatt from his position as former Executive Chairman of Standard International.
Lalvani is just one example of how Hyatt’s recent acquisitions are not just about bringing in new properties, but also expertise. Instead of moving new brands like The Standard to existing leaders, Hyatt taps into the knowledge that comes from outside. The same is true for Hyatt’s all-inclusive collection, which has retained the experienced team from ALG, including Águila.
Growing brands at all price points
A rendering of a guest room at Hyatt Select properties
Hyatt has added brands at all value propositions include the new Hyatt Studios and Hyatt Select, the latter announced only this year. Hyatt Select will be heavily focused on conversion properties, bringing in new owners and developers that want to be part of Hyatt’s portfolio. It will also help Hyatt tap into secondary and tertiary markets where they previously lacked geographic presence.
Hyatt Studios is the rapidly growing extended stay chain that consists of new builds that follow a formulaic and swift approach, something that has pleased new owners and quickly filled the pipeline of new openings. Mobile, Alabama was the first to open with many more on the way in smaller markets like Sumter, South Carolina and Pensacola, Florida.
The infinity pool at the new Hyatt Place Ha Long in Vietnam
Hyatt Place, the largest brand within World of Hyatt at more than 400 global hotels, opened new hotels in Bhopal, India; Ha Long Bay, Vietnam; Gothenberg, Sweden; and Tallinn, Estonia in recent months. There will also ne new hotels at New York JFK Airport next year and a hotel at the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park by 2027. Its extended stay sibling opened a new property in Melbourne, Australia this summer.
Caption by Hyatt will see new openings in Tokyo and Sydney while Unbound Collection by Hyatt welcomes new hotels in San Antonio and Seville, Spain.
Hyatt Regency Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
The Hyatt Regency brand is now at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, along Croatia’s aqua-hued coastline in Zadar and in New York’s Times Square, too. In addition to the latest Miami beach opening, Andaz will add hotels in Australia’s Gold Coast and Bangkok soon, and The Standard will bring a 1960s-inspired Art Deco property to Pattaya, Thailand. All of these are sure to be popular redemptions for World of Hyatt members.
