Hyatt Hotels has completed the disposal of all the property assets relating to its acquisition of the Playa Hotels & Resorts business.
The acquisition of the operating business included purchasing 15 hotel and resort assets in leisure destinations across Mexico and the Caribbean. As part of the transaction, Hyatt agreed to split the operational business from the property assets, with a sale of the real estate to third party partners.
An Asset-Light Approach to Growth
Of the 15 hotels, one was sold to a private third party investor for USD22 million, in September 2025. The remaining 14 resorts were sold as a single portfolio, to investment platform Tortuga Resorts. The pair agreed a price of around USD2 billion for the assets.
Tortuga and Hyatt plan a long term relationship, having signed 50 year management agreements on 13 of the properties; while the fourteenth already has an existing operational contract in place. Hyatt has the opportunity to earn back USD143 million under the contracts signed, so long as it meets certain specific performance targets. In addition, Hyatt has committed to retain a USD200 million equity stake in Tortuga.
“This closing is the culmination of a transformative transaction for Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection,” said Javier Águila, Hyatt’s oresident for the Inclusive Collection. “With this transaction, we’ve secured long-term management agreements for a portfolio of exceptional resorts that reflect our commitment to excellence.”
As a business, Hyatt remains committed to ensuring its hotel business aligns with a substantially asset-light model, similar to that pursued by other successful listed hotel groups such as Marriott, Hilton and IHG. That requires it to hold minimal real estate assets. Over recent years, Hyatt has achieved some notable disposals as it looked to diminish its owned hotels portfolio. With the opportunity to acquire the Playa Hotels business, from the outset it made plans to sell on the real estate parts of that company.
Tortuga, which is backed by investors KSL Capital Partners and Rodina, now lists 21 owned resort properties, across Mexico and the Caribbean. In addition to the Hyatt properties, which are under Hyatt’s brands including Ziva, Secrets and Sunscape, Tortuga also owns assets including Viceroy Los Cabos and Hilton Cancun Mar Caribe.
Building More Resort Properties
The region remains one of considerable focus for Hyatt’s expansion, with plenty more resorts in development, and many due to launch during 2026. In March 2026, the Dream Hotel Valle de Guadalupe will open, as a luxury lifestyle resort in the heart of Mexico’s wine region. Also in spring, the former Andaz Mayokoba Resort Riviera Maya will relaunch following refurbishment, as Alila Mayakoba.
Autumn will see the Grand Hyatt Cancun Beach Resort launched. A 500 room luxury new build, it will be located in the eastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. In Q4 of 2026, the 616 room Dreams Grand Island Cancun will open, along with Grand Hyatt Los Cabos, a 300 room luxury resort, as part of the OLEADA Pacific Living & Golf private resort community.
