Roughly two weeks after closing the deal to buy it, Hyatt Hotels Corp. will sell $2 billion in owned real estate from its recently closed acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts.
Hyatt has signed a deal to sell a portfolio of 15 all-inclusive resorts to Tortuga Resorts, a joint venture of hospitality investor KSL Capital Partners and Rodina, a family office based in Mexico City, according to a news release. The global hotel brand company finalized its $2.6 billion purchase of Playa on June 17.
“The planned real estate sale to Tortuga transforms the acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts into a fully asset-light transaction and increases Hyatt’s fee-based earnings,” Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian said in the release. “Hyatt has secured long-term, durable management agreements and the planned real estate sale demonstrates Hyatt’s commitment to its asset-light business model and ability to deliver value to shareholders that is accretive in the first full year.”
Hyatt announced in February its intent to buy Playa, sharing the two companies had been in negotiations since December 2024. The deal was the culmination of years of collaboration that started in 2015 with the brand launches of Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara. Hyatt moved further into the all-inclusive space with its acquisition of Apple Leisure Group in 2021 and its strategic joint venture last year with Grupo Piñero for Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts.
The resorts are located across Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Hyatt and Tortuga will have 50-year management agreements for 13 of the properties while the remaining two are under separate contractual agreements.
Hyatt will retain $200 million of preferred equity from the real estate deal. It could receive up to $143 million if it meets certain operational thresholds.
The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.
After the real estate deal closes, Hyatt's net purchase price for Playa is about $555 million. Hyatt expects to earn $60 million to $65 million of stabilized adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2027, inclusive of earnings from the Unlimited Vacation Club and ALG Vacations.
Hyatt is required to use the proceeds from selling off the real estate portfolio to repay its delayed draw term loan that it used to fund a portion of its Playa acquisition.