Playa revenue recovery ongoing, decries restrictions on Ja tourism market
Published:Friday | March 4, 2022 | 12:06 AM
Hyatt, Hilton and Jewel-branded properties in Jamaica earned US$97 million, or $14.5 billion in local currency, in revenue for the calendar year, up 40 per cent.
Playa Resorts & Hotels, which operates the brands, did not disclose whether the properties turned a profit. Revenue growth in Jamaica also tracked behind Playa’s other markets.
The company argued, however, that the pandemic restrictions in Jamaica keep the market from returning to its larger potential.
“Jamaica remained subdued due to more stringent COVID-19-related travel restrictions, compared to our other segments, but the performance in the Dominican Republic makes me optimistic about the potential recovery in Jamaica when we move beyond the pandemic,” said Chairman and CEO Bruce Wardinski in a market filing. Playa trades on the Nasdaq exchange in the United States.
In Jamaica, Playa “owns and manages” five properties: Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall and the conjoined Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall, Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa, and Jewel Paradise Cove Beach Resort & Spa.
Overall, Playa group revenues hovered at US$512.5 million, 96 per cent higher than a year earlier. Roughly one-fifth of that came from Jamaica, at US$97 million for the calendar year, up from US$67.2 million in 2020.
In the Dominican Republic, Playa hotels generated US$149.8 million, up 200 per cent from $49.9 million in 2020. The group also operates in two regions in Mexico, which earned US$188.9 million in the Yucatan Peninsula, up 72 per cent, and US$76.8 million in the Pacific Coast, up 132 per cent.
Wardinski said forward bookings are currently showing strong indications that persons are more willing to travel for leisure.
“The momentum from the fourth quarter has carried over into the new year, with several successive weeks in January setting weekly revenue bookings records,” he said.
The group stated that all its segments benefited from its resorts being open for the entirety of 2021.
In 2020, the company closed all its resorts for the second quarter, and experienced severely reduced occupancy during the third and fourth quarters as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. That year it also sold two other Jewel-branded resorts in Jamaica for US$60 million in order to generate cash to sustain operations under the pandemic.