Apple Leisure Group Ends Relationship with Playa Hotels, Excellence Resorts
by Jessica Montevago
The Hyatt Ziva will no longer be sold via ALG brands. Photo: Playa Hotels & Resorts
Apple Leisure Group-owned brands will no longer be a distributer of Playa Hotels & Resorts and Excellence Group Luxury Hotels & Resorts.
Following ALG’s acquisition of The Mark Travel Corporation, that includes Mark Travel’s flagship vacation packaging brand, Funjet Vacations, and private label airline brands United Vacations, and Southwest Vacations.
In the letter to its partners, Mark Travel said the mutual decision to part ways was “based on our business strategies no longer being aligned.”
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Playa’s portfolio includes Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara, The Royal, Panama Jack Resorts, Jewel Resorts, Hilton Rose Hall, and Sanctuary Cap Cana. Additionally, these brands will no longer be available through the VAX VacationAcesss booking platform.
ALG brands – Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions and CheapCaribbean.com – will no longer sell Jewel Resorts and Hilton Rose Hall.
The group also ended its relationship with Excellence Group, which operates Excellence Resorts; Beloved Hotels; and Finest Resorts.
Existing reservations will not be impacted and current policies for these bookings will not change, though new bookings to these properties can no longer be made.
It marks the second distribution issue ALG has faced since its TMTC purchase. Sandals and Beaches Resorts announced in May the company would be cutting off its wholesale relationship with the Mark Travel Corporation
Alex Zozaya, the CEO of Apple Leisure Group, said at the time the reason behind the move is because Apple Leisure Group owns AMResorts, which Sandals sees as a competitor in the Caribbean/Mexico all-inclusive resort market.
