Hyatt Inclusive Collection’s Antonio Fungairino on the Next Big Destination

Earlier this month, Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the appointment of Antonio Fungairino as head of Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) for the company’s Inclusive Collection (HIC), the name for its all-inclusive resort portfolio that was launched in 2021.  

Fungairino, who started with ALG Vacations in 2014 before coming over to Hyatt, will now lead HIC’s growth and development in LAC for all 10 of its resort brands, including family-friendly options like Dreams, adults-only options like Secrets and Breathless, and more.  

Fungairino, who most recently served as VP of development for HIC, sees a huge opportunity for the travel industry and, more specifically, for all-inclusive travel in LAC. According to an HIC analysis of the industry from last year, even with a growing supply, the travel demand is far outweighing what’s out there and more and more North Americans are entering the travel space.  

Fungairino points directly to passport numbers as a reason for optimism. According to the U.S. State Department, more than 24 million passports were issued in 2023, almost 22 million in 2022, and close to 1.5 million in 2021.  

And those with new passports typically want to travel to the region, he said, as shorter flights are more appealing for first-time international travelers. The all-inclusive segment, with its ease of pricing, makes things more appealing, as well.  

“It’s a very exciting position,” he told TMR in an interview this week. “This is what travelers want. Our business appeals to new travelers who don’t want to have a wallet of bills to give to kids when they want a smoothie.”  

The latest  
HIC has been “growing with intent,” Fungairino said. “We don’t simply sign a deal just because we want to grow, we want to do it because all the stakeholders can benefit from it.”  

Earlier this month, HIC opened the first Vivid property in Cancun called the Hyatt Vivid Grand Island, a 400-room property located just outside of the city’s hotel zone. More Vivids are planned, too.  

Fungairino called the brand an adult brand that also appeals to an experiential traveler who is looking to do what they want, when they want, in an approachable way.  

“We saw the opportunity to do this in the adult market,” he said. “We tried to think what else we can do on the adult market that we aren’t doing yet. We saw the next generation of adults, younger millennials, and maybe we were not touching them yet.”  

Aside from that approachability and choice on site, Vivid properties also incorporate more technology into the guest experience than other Hyatt brands, along with different food choices on-site that go outside of the traditional all-inclusive offerings, like food trucks.  

Expect the Vivid brand to develop as more properties are added, too, something that has happened with all of the HIC brands.  

“We’re going to learn from what the customer tells us and we’ll improve the brand as we go,” he said.  

HIC also recently opened its first hotel in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, the Dreams Estrella del Mar Mazatlán Golf & Spa Resort.  

The next big LAC destinations  
According to Fungairino, there are a few regions and destinations outside of Mexico that Hyatt Inclusive is keying in on.  

One is Aruba, which is one of the top markets RevPAR-wise for HIC, where HIC is still planning to open Secrets Baby Beach Resort sometime shortly.  

Another is St. Lucia, where HIC already has a ZOETRY and a Secrets and Dreams resort in the works.  

But perhaps the biggest future market for HIC, and maybe for the all-inclusive space in general, could be Costa Rica. There are only two HIC resorts there right now, but with the employee base there, and the easy connections from major consumer bases along the East Coast, “we are looking forward to increasing our presence there,” he said.  

Fungairino also spotlighted Cabo Rojo in the Dominican Republic, an area in the southwest part of the country that could become the next big Caribbean tourism destination considering the area’s investment and the appetite from the local government to grow it.  

Fungairino told TMR that HIC and other competitors could build 10 hotels in Cabo Rojo and that the government has plans to roll out a new airport, hospitals, and employee infrastructure there, too, as it wants to develop the areas outside of Punta Cana.  

“That focus from the government where they say something and they do it, we haven’t seen something like that before,” he said.  

Travel advisors 
Fungairino’s role might not be directly connected to the trade, but he told TMR that his history at ALG Vacations showed him just how much difference the trade makes in the industry.  

He mentioned the new and redesigned Confidant Collection, formerly known as AMRewards, as something all advisors booking HIC should be aware of. The program launched in May of last year specifically with the needs of the advisor community in mind.  

It includes offers, rewards, booking incentives, bonus commissions, Certified Confidant advisor rates, day pass access, and more for all registered advisors.