Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Hospitality, Travel, Tourism |
Founded | 1969[1] |
Founder | John Mullen |
Headquarters | , United States |
Area served |
|
Key people | Alejandro Zozaya (Executive Chairman) Alejandro Reynal (CEO) Michel Veytia(Executive VP) [2] |
Services |
|
Revenue | $3 billion [3] |
Number of employees | 25,000+ [2] |
Parent | Hyatt |
Subsidiaries |
|
Website | www.appleleisuregroup.com |
Apple Leisure Group (ALG) is an American travel and hospitality conglomerate focused on packaged travel and resort/brand management in Mexico, the Caribbean, Hispanic America, Europe, and the Middle East. It is the parent corporation of the resort and brand management company AMResorts. ALG also oversees fourteen subsidiaries, including tour operators Apple Vacations and Travel Impressions, online travel agency CheapCaribbean.com, and destination management company AMStar DMC. Its headquarters are in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. It is a subsidiary of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. As of October 2019, ALG is also the largest seller of charter flights, providing transport to 3.2 million passengers annually from the United States to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the Caribbean.[ citation needed ]
Apple Vacations was founded in 1969 by John Mullen and his brother-in-law, Al Atkinson, as Atkinson & Mullen Travel. Mullen later became the sole proprietor and renamed the company Apple Vacations.
In 2001, future ALG CEO Alejandro Zozaya, son-in-law of John Mullen, founded resort sales, marketing, and brand management company AMResorts. Over a decade later, he spearheaded the effort to form ALG by making tour operator Apple Vacations a sister company of AMResorts. ALG received an influx of equity in late 2012 when it sold an undisclosed stake in its business to Boston-based global private equity firm Bain Capital. In 2013, Apple Leisure Group expanded with the acquisition of B2B tour operator Travel Impressions from American Express, of online leisure wholesaler CheapCaribbean.com, of destination management company Amstar DMC, and of AMResorts’ guest loyalty program, Unlimited Vacation Club.
In early 2017 Bain Capital sold its interest in Apple Leisure Group to private equity companies KSL Capital Partners and KKR for an undisclosed price. [4] In May 2018 Apple Leisure Group merged with The Mark Travel Corporation and its associated brands Funjet Vacations and Trisept Solutions under the Apple Leisure Group name. [5]
In November of 2018, Apple Leisure Group announced an expansion into Europe alongside Groupo Inversor Hesperia (GIHSA), taking over operations of four of GIHSA’s resorts in Spain. The following month Apple Leisure Group signed an agreement to purchase a majority share in Alua Hotels and Resorts, adding a further 12 resorts across Spain to its European portfolio. Citing increased growth in the European market, in March of 2019 Apple Leisure Group named Javier Aguilla the President of the Europe Division. Aguilla had previous worked as the Founder and COO of Alua.
In 2019, ALG expanded further, adding 9,000 rooms to their portfolio over 23 different properties. This included a five-star adults-only resort, Secrets Mallorca, in the coastal town of Paguera, bringing over 100 jobs to the region. One more Secrets location is expected on the Caribbean island of St. Martin in 2020, along with a Dreams location in Punta Cana.
Also in 2019, ALG named Alejandro Reynal as its CEO. Reynal succeeded the position from Alejandro Zozaya, who remains the leader of ALG’s board of directors. Reynal previously served as the CEO of customer relationship management conglomerate Atento.
In August 2021, Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced that it is buying Apple Leisure Group for $2.7 billion in cash. [6] The acquisition was completed on November 2, 2021. [7]
The subsidiaries of ALG operate under the Apple Leisure Group Vacations umbrella. Apple Leisure Group Vacations (ALGV) is a collection of vacations brands including Apple Vacations, Travel Impressions, Cheap Caribbean, Funjet Vacations, Southwest Vacations, Blue Sky Tours, BeachBound, and United Vacations.
In 1967, Arnold Tolkin purchased a travel agency called ATS. Seven years later, Tolkin formed a group incentive and convention travel company out of ATS and named it Travel Impressions. In 1998, the Tolkin family, along with partner Ira Theodore, sold the tour operator to American Express. In April 2013, American Express and ALG announced an agreement under which ALG would acquire Travel Impressions and American Express’ international tour operator American Express Vacations International (AEVI). In the agreement, Travel Impressions would become the exclusive marketer and operator of American Express Vacations. American Express permitted their American Express Vacations branding to be used by Travel Impressions under license for a 3 year period post sale of the business. However by 2017 the license agreement had expired and the program branding offered exclusively to American Express clients across Europe was changed to The Vacation Collection.
Founded by Jim and Marta Hobbs and established in 2000, CheapCaribbean.com is an e-commerce vacation company providing beach travel to the Caribbean and Mexico. In August 2013, CheapCaribbean.com was acquired by Apple Leisure Group. The company continues to operate as a separate, wholly owned entity, with offices in Dallas, Phoenix, and Philadelphia. [8] It was named one of Inc.'s "Top 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America" in 2013. [9]
Amstar DMC has provided excursions in Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic since 1989. Its corporate headquarters are located in Cancún and Punta Cana. In 2008, Amstar became the first Mexican destination management company to open a representation office in Shanghai, China. Five years later, an office was opened in Hawaii through Amstar's sister company, Worldstar. In 2014, it commenced operation in Costa Rica. [10]
MyTravel Group plc was a British, global travel group headquartered in Rochdale, England. It was founded in 1972 as Airtours Group. The group included two in-house airlines, MyTravel Airways UK and MyTravel Airways Scandinavia, and various tour operators around the world. On 19 June 2007, the group merged with Thomas Cook AG to form the Thomas Cook Group plc.
Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is a Canadian luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide. Since 2007, Bill Gates and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal have been majority owners of the company. As of January 2022, Cascade Investment owns 71.25% and Kingdom Holding Company owns 23.75% of the hotel and resort company.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacation properties. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts is one of the businesses managed by the Pritzker family. Hyatt has more than 1350 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 69 countries, across South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia
Holiday Inn is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division of Bass Brewery from 1988-2000, Six Continents from 2000-03, and IHG Hotels & Resorts since 2003. It operates hotels under the names Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and Holiday Inn Resorts. As of 2018, Holiday Inn has hotels at over 1,100 locations.
Swan Hellenic is a British cruise line specialising in expedition tours of historical or cultural interest aimed at the upper end of the cruise market. Swan Hellenic was first established as Swan's Tours in the 1950s as a tour operator carrying guests to historic sites, providing enrichment throughout their trips. In 1983, Swan Hellenic was acquired by P&O and became a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc in 2003, but it ended operations in 2007 after Carnival discontinued the brand. Shortly after, All Leisure Holidays Group purchased and revived Swan Hellenic, but ended its operations in 2017. G Adventures acquired the brand later that year and planned to revive it for a second time in 2018, but sold the brand to a private group in 2020, which plans to resume Swan Hellenic's operations with its first-ever new-build ship in 2021.
A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via automobile, bus, or charter airline and may also include travel between areas as part of the holiday. Package holidays are a form of product bundling.
Marriott Vacation Club is the primary timeshare brand of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation. The brand comprises around 70 Marriott Vacation Club properties throughout the United States, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, and Asia. Marriott Vacation Club resorts consist of one, two, and three-bedroom villas, with more than 400,000 owners.
Travel + Leisure Co. is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation ownership clubs, including Club Wyndham, WorldMark by Wyndham, Margaritaville Vacation Club, and Accor Vacation Club. The company also provides timeshare exchange services, primarily through RCI, and travel clubs including Travel + Leisure GO.
Outrigger Resorts & Hotels is a Honolulu-based luxury hotel chain and management company that operates hotels, condominiums, and vacation resort properties in Hawaii, the Asia-Pacific region, and the islands of the Indian Ocean.
Regent Hotels & Resorts is a British-American luxury hospitality brand, founded by hotelier Robert H. Burns in 1970. After passing through different owners since foundation, it is currently jointly owned by IHG Hotels & Resorts and Formosa International Hotels Corporation since July 2018, with hotels and resorts in Asia and Europe.
Vacation Express is a tour operator based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company was founded in 1989. Vacation Express was purchased by Sunwing Travel Group in 2011 for an undisclosed sum. The company has sold over two million vacation packages.
Travel City Direct was a brand owned by Virgin Holidays. It was previously the trading name of the Really Great Holiday Company PLC, a British holiday company based in Crawley, specialising in holidays to the United States. The company was part of the third largest tour operator in the United Kingdom, the XL Leisure Group and was the UK's largest direct sell tour operator to Florida.
Emirates Airline has diversified into related industries and sectors, including airport services, event organization, engineering, catering, and tour operator operations. Emirates has four subsidiaries, and its parent company has more than 50.
The Allegro Resorts Corporation was a major hotel operator and one of the pioneers in all-inclusive travel industry. At its height, Allegro owned 27 properties in the Dominican Republic, Antigua, Morocco, Aruba, Turks and Caicos, Mexico, Venezuela, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Tunisia, St. Kitts and Egypt. The brand portfolio was composed of Caribbean Village, Allegro Resorts, Royal Hideaway and Jack Tar.
Aqua-Aston Hospitality, LLC is a Honolulu-based hotel management company operating a multi-branded line of hotels, condominiums and vacation resort properties primarily located in Hawaii. The chain was purchased by Marriott Vacations Worldwide in 2018.
Diamond Resorts is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hilton Grand Vacations. Diamond Resorts was an independent timeshare and vacation ownership company until it was purchased by HGV in 2021. Following the purchase, Diamond's resorts became part of HGV's resort portfolio, and Diamond itself became a brand and subsidiary of HGV. The majority of Diamond Resorts have been or will be rebranded as Hilton vacation Club properties, however the original brand will continue to exist as some resorts are slated to retain the Diamond Resorts name.
Shearings is a coach tour operator, part of the Leger Shearings Group, based in the United Kingdom. The tour operator brand specialises in holidays including escorted tours, unescorted tours, short breaks, self-drive holidays and river cruises throughout the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Ireland and Continental Europe.
Sunwing Vacations Group, formerly known as Sunwing Travel Group, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, became a subsidiary of the WestJet Group on May 1, 2023. Today, it operates as the leisure division of the WestJet Group; according to its website, the group forms "the largest vacations brand in North America."
Minor Hotels is an international hotel owner, operator, and investor headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, with more than 550 hotels in over 55 countries across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe, and the Americas. Minor Hotels operates as a subsidiary of Minor International, one of the largest hospitality and leisure companies in the Asia-Pacific region. The group operates hotels under the brands of Anantara Hotels & Resorts, Avani Hotels & Resorts, Elewana Collection, Oaks Hotels, Resorts & Suites, NH Hotels, NH Collection, nhow Hotels, and Tivoli Hotels & Resorts.