ALG Vacations Looks Ahead at Luxury, Destination Expansion, and More

There was lots of ground to cover at Apple Leisure Group Vacations (ALGV)’s 2024 Ascend Conference in Cancun, Mexico. The company is continuing to grow in big ways – and taking travel advisors with them for the ride. 

ALGV’s acquisition by World of Hyatt three years ago continues to bode well for ALGV, which has had its teeth in the Mexican and Caribbean resort management business for decades and is now seeing more significant expansion in other destinations. 

In addition, ALGV is leaning further into luxury as that segment sees an industry-wide boost, improving its booking technologies for travel advisors, and spreading kindness along the way. 

“There’s lots to look forward to,” said Ray Snisky, ALGV group president. 

During a Q&A session with travel trade media on Oct. 24, Snisky and Jacki Marks, global head of trade brands, offered insights into where the company is headed. 

Luxury segment

This year, ALGV launched Luxe by ALG Vacations, a collection of about 450 high-end hotels and luxury amenities worldwide. While it took longer than expected to get it up and running, it is now six months in with thousands of advisors booking products through the program. 

Luxe by ALGV also provides advisors with concierge that can do everything from having special wine bottles delivered to clients to preparing unique private excursions. As this type of elevated service is in higher demand, Marks and Snisky say that they will add more product to the program in 2025. 

“We’ve always been at the upper end of middle America. It’s a mad dash across our entire industry to get into luxury,” Snisky said. “When you look at the pipeline of hotel development, the largest are in the luxury segments – products and services and so forth – so we need to adapt and put some more resource and effort into that space.” 

Europe and beyond

ALGV is also making efforts to diversify the destinations they offer to travelers. So far, they’re mainly seeing these efforts pay off in Europe, where the company has more than doubled their bookings in the past 12 to 18 months. 

Also, whereas the company didn’t have a single property in Spain three years ago, it is now the third-largest hotel group in the country. Marks pointed to properties such as Secrets Mallorca in Spain, Dreams Madeira in Portugal, and Dreams Corfu in Greece as top sellers. 

And it’s not just Europe, either. Snisky expressed surprise to see sharp increases in bookings to places like Dubai and the Maldives without much marketing of those destinations. 

“We’re very proud to be leaders in the Mexico and Caribbean space, and that will always be the structure of our company, but I think you’re going to see us really diversify,” Snisky said, noting that with airline capacity dipping – and prices increasing – in Mexico and the Caribbean, alternative destinations should become even more popular in 2025. 

“We’re seeing clientele have a comfort level to go to these very unique destinations with tour companies they trust,” he added. 

New technologies

Two big technological announcements are in the hopper for ALGV: the launch of Amelia, an interactive AI chatbot, and a new travel advisor dashboard. 

Amelia will be “the kindest virtual assistant out there,” Marks said. “That is really why it’s taken a while to launch her. We kind of say it’s like birthing a baby; they go through the screaming phases. We launched her on the consumer brands and realized she wasn’t the nicest person sometimes in her responses.” 

After some more kindness training for Amelia, the chatbot is now in beta testing with travel advisors. 

Investing in API solutions and integrating booking systems with top travel agencies is also on ALGV’s list of priorities for 2025. The company already has a partnership with Cruise Planners and has about 18 other integrations in the pipeline. 

Kindness initiatives

ALGV is doubling down on its three pillars of kindness: kindness to oneself, kindness to others, and kindness in travel. While Marks said these were always practices the company has internally, ALGV is in its second year of promoting them on a larger scale with travel advisors. 

In 2023, ALGV launched its Kindness Conference for 40 advisors under 40 years old. This year, the company expanded this, hosting both the Kindness Conference and a coinciding Kindness Connection for more experienced advisors. The two groups had some of their own activities but also came together for a giveback project. 

There will be announcements to come about next year’s kindness events, where the company hopes to continue connecting advisors from different generations. 

“It’s way more than just about giving back,” Marks said. “It’s creating a culture that unites the industry and helps advisors find their people.”