Spending on new hotels spikes



Research source Forbes said in November 2024 that US airlines reported that 271 million passengers transported this summer ended, a 6.3 per cent increase from last year.

Of these, 38 per cent of Americans traveled internationally, a trend expected to continue into 2025. Hotels internationally have meanwhile been building new resort rooms in anticipation of the post covid recovery in travel underway.

For guests who are ready to try a new resort spot in the warm Caribbean, options are increasing, SLS Hotels opened the 498-room SLS Playa Mujeres in November 2024 featuring 18 restaurants and bars, kids’ and teens’ facilities.

Also among the new properties which are set for opening in the new year are the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino development in Jamaica for which the last budget mentioned was US$800 million, or about $120 billion.

Temponetworks.com lists new openings in the Caribbean as including Cas En Bas Beach Resort – St. Lucia, a Hyatt resort set to open in early 2025 on that island’s northern tip.

Another is Secrets Baby Beach Aruba which is set to be Hyatt’s first adults-only Inclusive Collection resort in Aruba.

Also promised is Hyatt’s debut in the Cayman Islands which will feature 351 guestrooms and studio suites.

Unico Hotel 1877 in Jamaica is slated for opening in summer 2025. It is a 450-room luxury resort in Montego Bay.

Also in development is Marriott Miches Beach in the Dominican Republic which is slated for part of the group’s all-inclusive portfolio with 498 rooms.

At year end 2024, Marriott opened its first property in Santiago: the 140-room AC Hotels Santiago de los Caballeros. It’s the second AC in the DR.

Marriott’s business model involves generating fees from owners through management and franchise contracts.

The hotel chain claims the highest global fee revenue per room at US $2,745, which is US $100 higher than Hyatt, and US $350 higher than Hilton, followed by IHG and Accor.

Marriot has said that 73 per cent of its bookings come from direct channels — 31 per cent via the property itself, 38 per cent from its direct digital channels, and 4 per cent from call centers), with online travel agencies responsible for another 12 per cent, and the global distribution systems contributing the remaining 15 per cent.

Sarah Greaves Gabbadon in her Caribbean Dispatch column highlights other new properties coming in the region.

In 2025 there are plans for the JOIA Aruba by Iberostar, promising 240 suites; seven restaurants and bars plus access to the island’s only 18-hole championship golf course; and three pools


In Mexico boutique brand Kimpton will launch its first all-inclusive, Kimpton Tres Rios, on the Riviera Maya in second quarter 2025.


Photo credit: cndenglish.com

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