Bahia Principe Zeroes in on the U.S. Market

Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts, the luxury resort division of Grupo Pinero based in Mallorca, Spain, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with the launch of initiatives and resources focused on the U.S. market.

Bahia Principe's all-inclusive portfolio comprises 18 resorts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica and four in Spain.

"The U.S. is a huge and critical market for us," said Julio Perez, executive vice president. "This year and in the future we will be allocating even more resources and budget to that market.

"We do not have strong name or brand recognition in the U.S. at this time. We are strong in Canada, and we plan to work hard to get the Bahia brand known in the U.S.," he said.

The initiatives include the launch of Bahia's revamped website at the end of September.

The site will be more user-friendly and more focused on resort information with images, descriptions and a booking engine for both air-inclusive packages and land-only bookings.

Bahia retained a design firm in Madrid to create a brighter, more contemporary site than the existing one.

"We realized our current site was out of fashion," Perez said. "We also now have a dedicated marketing and public relations team in North America, which also will help build awareness of the brand for consumers and trade."

Following the website debut, Bahia plans to launch an agent loyalty program by the end of the year.

"This will be an important area for agents," Perez said. "This is a first for Bahia. We'll start with the U.S. market and then expand the loyalty program to agents in other countries."

Expanding the Bahia portfolio in Mexico and the Caribbean is a key feature of the company's game plan.

Bahia's Mexico room count currently totals 3,236 rooms in four properties on the Riviera Maya: the Luxury Bahia Principe Akumal, the Luxury Bahia Principe Sian Ka'an, the Grand Bahia Principe Coba and the Grand Bahia Principe Tulum.

Set to open in the Riviera Maya in late 2016 or early 2017 is the Luxury Bahia Principe Punta Jade.

The newbuild property, close to Tulum, will total between 432 and 450 rooms, according to Perez, who said the total room count will be finalized shortly.

"The Riviera Maya region is growing and developing very fast, but more resorts are needed in this area," Perez said. "It's a big market and a very important one for us."

Additional expansion is on Bahia's agenda in the Dominican Republic, where the company currently has 6,049 rooms in four resorts in Samana, five in Punta Cana, two in La Romana and one in Puerto Plata.

Slated to open Nov. 1 is the 149-room Luxury Bahia Principe Samana Don Pablo Collection.

"Our Don Pablo Collection caters to the most sophisticated traveler," Perez said. "It's the highest category of our resorts with personalized butler services and extra amenities."

Reservations now are being taken for the new Samana property.

Continuing its expansion within the Caribbean, Bahia plans to establish its footprint in a new destination with the opening of the 950-suite Luxury Baby Beach Don Pablo Collection in San Nicolas on the southeastern coast of Aruba in 2017. Groundbreaking is set for the end of this year.

"We're always looking for more opportunities and new markets, which is why we selected Aruba," Perez said

Rounding out Bahia's portfolio in the Caribbean region is the 812-room Grand Bahia Principe Jamaica in Runaway Bay and the 512-room Luxury Bahia Principe Runaway Bay.

"Mexico and the Caribbean are highly competitive markets, and these markets do not allow us to relax, which is why we are moving hard for brand and name recognition in the U.S.," Perez said.

"There are several well-established Spanish hotel companies in this region, and while we are all friendly competitors, we are all going after the same customers in many instances, so we have to stand out from the others in terms of service, standards, amenities, culinary offerings and facilities," he said.

While Bahia has a lot on its plate in the next two years, Perez said other projects are in the works for 2018, although he did not elaborate. The years ahead could see possible new destinations such as Costa Rica and Panama and further expansion within Mexico and the Caribbean.

Source: Travel Weekly