Marriott Announces Plans For All-Inclusive Resorts

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Marriott has today announced that it plans to expand its already sizeable portfolio and significant accommodation options to include all-inclusive resorts.

The corporation has confirmed that it has already signed management contracts for 5 brand new all-inclusive properties which are expected to open their doors between 2022 and 2025.

In addition to the new properties which are currently at the planning stage, Marriott also intends to further expand its all-inclusive portfolio with a mixture of more new-builds and conversions of existing resorts (including properties which are already part of the Marriott family).

Also, in good news for miles & points enthusiasts, Marriott has already confirmed that the all-inclusive resorts will be open to Bonvoy members looking to book with points:

The new platform will provide the company’s 133 million Marriott Bonvoy members the option to earn and redeem points for this convenient, pay-one-price concept.

The new management contracts Marriott already has in place mean that “more than 2,000 rooms [already] in the works” although the locations of the new resorts aren’t exactly breaking new ground.

Marriott’s New All-Inclusive Resorts

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic:

• 650-room Autograph Collection resort (2022 anticipated opening)

NIA, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico:

• 240-room The Ritz-Carlton resort (2023 anticipated opening)
• 400-room Westin Hotels resort (2023 anticipated opening)
• 300-room Autograph Collection resort (2025 anticipated opening)
• 500-room Marriott Hotels resort (2025 anticipated opening)

“NIA” is a new creation from a Mexico City-based real estate developer which is being designed as “a flagship, all-inclusive destination to feature four of Marriott International’s premium and luxury brand experiences in Riviera Nayarit”.

The project site expands to approximately 220 acres along Mexico’s tropical Pacific Coast.

Thoughts

I can’t say that I’ve ever given this much thought but, now that Marriott has brought this up, I guess it’s a little odd that a hotelier of Marriott’s size hasn’t yet got an all-inclusive arm.

Hilton, Marriott’s closest competitor worldwide, already offers all-inclusive resorts so I guess it’s not all that surprising to see Marriott enter this sphere.

What does surprise me a little is that Marriott is choosing to use its existing brands to launch its all-inclusive options rather than adding yet another name to its 30+ existing brands.

This should turn out to be good news for those looking to book these new resorts (when that time comes) as with an existing brand guests should have a very good idea of what to expect from the property they’re booking (a Ritz-Carlton AI resort is going to be considerably more upscale than a regular Marriott-branded AI resort for example).

Bottom Line

Overall this is good news for Marriott fans and Bonvoy members as the addition of all-inclusive resorts to Marriott’s portfolio will be a genuinely new option for people to choose.

The fact that all these properties will be bookable with points is another nice thing to hear…although it will be interesting to see how these properties fit into the Marriott Bonvoy award chart.

My one disappointment with this news is that Marriott has played it ultra-safe with the location of its new properties – Mexico and the Dominican Republic are already awash with all-inclusive resorts so it would have been nice if Marriott had shown a little imagination and chosen one or two more interesting locations.

Still, as I said, this is clearly good news for those of us who enjoy earning and burning Marriott points and as long as the new resorts aren’t ridiculously priced (and offer adult-only options) I’ll be looking forward to checking them out.