After Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s CEO Mark Hoplamazian outlined plans for the aggressive expansion of the Inclusive Collection in the wake of acquiring luxury hotel and resorts operator Apple Leisure Group (ALG), the global hotel chain has since been making significant inroads into higher-end all-inclusive resorts across the US and Europe.

Hoplamazian previously hinted that following its expansion of its five-star, luxury all-inclusives in the US, Europe and the Middle East, Hyatt “will eventually extend that throughout Asia”.

In an exclusive interview with Travel Weekly Asia, Jim Chu, executive vice president and chief growth officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation unveiled Hyatt’s future plans of bringing a luxury all-inclusive concept to Asia.

The Secrets Mallorca Villamil that opened in 2019 is one of the properties under Hyatt's AMR Collection that has expanded into Europe in recent years.

The time's ripe for Asia Pacific

The time is nigh for Asia, Chu discloses to Travel Weekly Asia. Hot on the heels of signing a five-resort deal in Bulgaria with four different brands, Hyatt has now turned its eyes to Asia where all-inclusive concepts are scarce.

“We are looking at the markets which we think will be conducive for luxury leisure all-inclusive travel, for example like Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, and China,” Chu shared. “Today, these markets have a high focus of leisure travel and greater consumer accessibility in transportation, so we see the potential in introducing all-inclusive brands into markets like that.”

Although all-inclusive resorts have not been as popular among Asian travellers compared to their Western and European counterparts, something which Chu agreed and acknowledged, he also reckons that Hyatt will bring about the all-inclusive uprising with the debut of its Inclusive Collection in Asia.

Hyatt Hotels' Inclusive Collection is pushing further into Europe with the upcoming opening of the Dreams Madeira Resort Spa & Marina, the portfolio's first all-inclusive in Portugal.

“We’re a 65-year-old company, we didn’t really focus on it until we focused on it. And we found that there is a consumer desire. Although travellers have been using traditional resorts in the past, it was really because they weren’t introduced to all-inclusive concepts. They either didn’t have enough choices or quality choices.”

Exclusive yet inclusive packages

So what differentiates Hyatt from the other existing all-inclusive resorts already established here? For Chu, Hyatt is bringing about exclusivity in inclusivity. Hyatt’s all-inclusive foray into Asia will provide discerning guests with the comforts of a luxury five-star resort, a product and experience which Chu reckons “does not exist in Asia”.

“All-inclusives are there, but it’s been a three- or four-star product. It resonated with some consumers, but it didn’t resonate with the luxury consumers. But now we find that it’s not necessarily about booking leisure travel at value. It’s about the convenience of having it included, the convenience of not leaving the resort, and having good quality choices, whether it be for water activities or on-site resort experiences, or restaurant and bar experiences, versus just an inexpensive package.”

Hyatt plans to open five all-inclusive luxury resorts in Bulgaria over the next two years.

How agents can sell all-inclusives

Beyond the opportunities that await Hyatt in Asia, travel advisors can seize the chance to jump on the bandwagon and create innovative products and packages ahead of Hyatt’s all-inclusive debut, according to Chu.

“People are becoming more familiar about booking travel on their own online but when things are new, travel agents are able to offer the crucial information especially for travellers looking at experiential travel, who want to know a little bit more about what they’re booking and what are the experiences offered. 

"The travel trade will not only be able to give comfort to the traveller, but also due to the nature of our all-inclusive concepts which is essentially packaged travel, travel agents can further package that experience with other offerings to boost the traveller’s experience versus travellers just going through an online booking.”