Wyndham Launches New All-Inclusive Alltra Brand

In a ceremony that began with a vibrant Maya blessing and ended with confetti cannons, a cast of Mexican tourism officials and hotel executives officially launched the new all-inclusive Wyndham Alltra brand in Cancun on Tuesday.

The lively ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in the open-air lobby of the 458-room Wyndham Alltra Cancun, a property owned by Playa Hotels & Resorts that first started welcoming guests under the new all-inclusive Wyndham Hotels & Resorts branding in December.

Alltra is Wyndham’s first all-inclusive offering and was developed in direct partnership with Playa, according to Scott LePage, Wyndham’s president for the Americas, who said discussions between the two hospitality companies first started in 2019.

“Playa has done these strategic alliances in the past, and they’ve got a great track record with them,” LePage explained, referring to existing arrangements the owner/operator has with Hilton and Hyatt.

“Playa saw an opportunity for this type of customer, for this segment, and really wanted Wyndham to be a part of it,” LePage said. “Over time, that evolved into this concept — the brand that we would develop [and] that they would manage, giving us the best of both organizations.” 

Dreamt up as a way to offer all-inclusive travel to all, according to LePage, Alltra is aimed at what Wyndham is describing as “everyday travelers.” But hospitality executives attending the ribbon-cutting repeatedly used “mid-upscale to upscale” to describe the travelers they hope the new all-inclusive brand will attract. 

“It’s guys like me,” said Dean Sullivan, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Playa. “I’ve got three kids, so I’m looking for a way to have a good time and really enjoy my vacation, but I also recognize I’ve got three mouths to feed on top of my wife and myself.”

Interest Is High, and Expansion Is Already in the Works

Located in Cancun’s busy Hotel Zone, the Wyndham Alltra Cancun is a family-friendly resort, but the brand’s other property, the 287-room beachfront Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen — also owned by Playa — is an adults-only option that also opened under the new branding in December. According to LePage, interest for both properties has been high among the 90 million members of the Wyndham Rewards loyalty program.

“All of a sudden, we launch an all-inclusive model, and 50% of the reservations we were seeing come through our system were all-inclusive reservations,” LePage said.

All of a sudden, we launch an all-inclusive model, and 50% of the reservations we were seeing come through our system were all-inclusive reservations.

Tapping into Wyndham’s rewards membership program was an important part of why Playa wanted to partner with the global hospitality corporation, according to Sullivan, who also said points-based bookings has been very strong for the two Alltra properties so far this year. 

“We’re at levels that we expected we wouldn’t reach until summer or into fall, so the redemption side of this business has worked out very well,” he explained. “But for the general consumer who has a general awareness of a global hospitality brand, I think we’re picking up a ton of that, which we maybe wouldn’t have gotten in the past.”

Both Sullivan and LePage were quick to note that a partnership plan is in place between to the two hospitality companies to open several more Alltra all-inclusive properties in the future, and expanding beyond Mexico into the Caribbean islands is likely to happen soon, according to LePage.

“We do expect Alltra to hit the Caribbean, ideally this year,” he said. “We’re being a little choosy with the first few. The first several hotels really define the brand for the consumer, and we want to be sure we stay consistent with that.”

LePage wasn’t yet ready, however, to disclose where in the Caribbean travelers should expect a new Alltra resort. 

“I can tell you it will be an island with water around it,” he said with a chuckle. 

We do expect Alltra to hit the Caribbean, ideally this year. We’re being a little choosy with the first few.

What’s New, and Who Should Book?

Travel sellers who are especially familiar with Playa’s hotelproducts will remember that the Wyndham Alltra Cancun property was previously a Panama Jack resort, and although a renovation as part of the rebranding was announced by Playa officials last October, Sullivan indicated the work done wasn’t substantial.

“Really, the property was in fantastic shape prior to the conversion,” he said. “So, it was more cosmetic certainly than it was [an] actual renovation.”

Much of the improvement effort focused on the arrival experience and the lobby, according to Playa officials, including a full renovation of the lobby bar as well as landscaping improvements and changes at the resort’s entrance.

Longtime Playa Hotels seller Lindsay Foerster, the CEO of Foerster Travel in Lubbock, Texas, who visited the property several times in the past and attended the ribbon cutting earlier this week, agreed that the upgrades weren’t extensive.

“Some of the decor elements have changed, and they’ve changed up some of the restaurants,” she said. “But I do think overall, having the Wyndham name behind it will just give consumers a little bit more trust in the product as a whole.”

Foerster noted that being sure about exactly who fits a property best right after a rebranding can be tough, particularly when a massive loyalty program such as Wyndham Rewards is involved and such a diverse group of travelers are redeeming points at a new resort. Still, the property’s kid-friendly waterpark and Camp Alltra activities options do make sense for a particular segment. 

“From what I’m seeing and experiencing, I think the best clients would be those with younger children — 12 years old and under,” Foerster said. “They have a place for teens, but because of the resort’s size, I see families with younger children doing better here. Having older children — a lot of times we like to send them to bigger properties.” 

Are they going to start looking at price parity and say, ‘Well, I can find it online for this amount. Why should I use you?’ That’s where our relationship with Playa Hotels & Resorts becomes extremely important, and I know they’re very travel agent focused.

Foerster also said the Wyndham rebranding could lead to bookings from new clients who are fond of the global hospitality company and might also be a chance for her to sell a new option to frequent Mexico travelers interested in trying something different.

But she did express some apprehension about the excitement from hotel executives surrounding new business from loyalty program members. 

“The Wyndham brand can be really great and recognizable, but at the same time, you start to think, ‘Goodness, if people know they can come down on points is that going to make a travel agent obsolete?’” Foerster said. “Are they going to start looking at price parity and say, ‘Well, I can find it online for this amount. Why should I use you?’ That’s where our relationship with Playa Hotels & Resorts becomes extremely important, and I know they’re very travel agent focused. … But at the end of the day, it’s all about the bottom line, so the future is a little unclear.” 

The Details
Playa Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Alltra