In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Urbano Gutiérrez, Sales Director of Wyndham Grand Cancún All Inclusive Resort & Villas.
How was the conversion project and what amenities and layout does the property have?
The hotel is 35 years old, it was another brand, a franchise, and in November 2022 it became Wyndham, which is an international chain.
This Wyndham Grand brand that we are now, is one of the 22 brands that Wyndham has, and it is at the premium level, there are 50 Wyndham Grand hotels of this type in the world, mainly in the USA and China.
Wyndham has about 50 hotels of different brands in Mexico, in Cancun and Riviera Maya. We changed to this brand and did three stages of room remodeling. This year we will finish the last stage of the building. We have 349 rooms and in December we will have the building completely remodeled, with all the rooms, only a few villas are missing. We have 28 villas, four have already been remodeled this year and there will be about 24 left for later.
What types of rooms do you have?
We have four main categories. Superior with a view of the lagoon and Superior with a view of the sea. And then we have a category called Junior Suite which is larger, it has only one bed and a view of the sea. The villas can accommodate up to six people, with four beds, three bedrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, terrace, bathroom, and each bedroom has its own balcony. The rest of the rooms can accommodate up to four people.
We also have four rooms accessible for people with some need to use a wheelchair.
As a Wyndham Grand property, what are the features that distinguish this particular hotel from the other flagships in the chain?
It is a premium brand from Wyndham, but it is very flexible in the sense that people can have access to travel to a Wyndham branded hotel with a very good standard and it is affordable, it is not a high price. So that is the main characteristic of the Wyndham Grand brand.
You still have a level that is Caracol, do you want to tell me about that?
Yes, we have a section that is our vacation club, it is called Caracol Vacation Club and it is an additional service that we offer to our clients. They are offered a membership and if they acquire it they have additional services within the property.
What amenities does the property have? What is the food and entertainment offering?
We have several different restaurants: Italian, a steak, Mexican food, snacks, Asian food, sushi bar and a restaurant on the beach that offers a gourmet Mexican option for dinner. We have a little something for everyone. Restaurants open at 6:00 am
For the buffet, another restaurant is also opened, which is practically on the beach, called Piña Colada. Then at midday, other locations open, for snacks, Mexican and sushi, and Piña remains a la carte. For dinner, there is Italian, steak and gourmet Mexican.
In terms of activities, they start at 8:00 a.m. For adults we have everything from stretching, aqua aerobics to beach volleyball. We usually have a show or live music, and the famous Michael Jackson show is very popular here and people love it. We also have casino night, karaoke night and we change it up, mainly trying to have the activities within reach of the clients.
Among the things that were added to the hotel is the gym, which was completely remodeled. We also have a very good spa. For children, we have the Kids Club with a small water park, with an area for parents, where they can accompany their children, but also have a snack or a drink.
And we have a Teens Club, which we didn't have before, which was necessary as an additional amenity. We don't have adult sections specifically, we are primarily family-oriented, so we need these additional amenities.
Since the conversion until now, how do you work and what do you offer to the different segments throughout the year?
We have different segments, including weddings. In the group segment, we have a large hall that is subdivided into four, with a long foyer. We also have a consecrated Catholic chapel, and outdoor locations next to the pools where we can hold events on the beach. We have two work rooms and another one with capacity for approximately 80 people.
Sales are mainly made at the hotel, with wholesalers or with OTAs. We work with them to distribute our rates, which are always affordable, especially if you book well in advance.
We have about 35 to 40 weddings a year, which helps us because we can give it the attention that such an important and emotional event requires. Then, we also have about 20 groups a year, specifically from the United States, Mexico and Latin America. We are receiving groups of students from Paraguay, for example, from Latin America.
In general, we have business from different countries. We also have groups, for example, of American football teams, dance groups and dancers who come and an instructor gives them salsa classes in our halls. We have also had veterinary congresses for 200 people, medical events or events related to that sector.
And in terms of agents, we have contact with them and we participate in various fairs such as Wyndham Corporate or Wyndham Grand Cancun. We usually go to ANATO and participate in FITUR and Cancun Travel Mart. We also participate with the Hotel Association, receiving some important accounts that come from Latin America and trying to always be present everywhere.
What are your prospects and projects for next year?
I think that in this third year that we are Wyndham, we are going to continue consolidating ourselves. These last two years were good and sales are looking very good right now. We depend on several external factors such as elections, hurricanes and their arrival date, etc. We normally have 300 arrivals at the Cancun Airport daily with more than 200 that are international, mainly from the U.S. So everything that happens in the United States affects us.
Right now, the numbers are telling us that a good year is coming. We are returning to the levels and type of clients we had in 2019 before Covid. This year we are ending with a 5% increase in revenue, so we also depend on the exchange rate. In Mexico, although we sell in dollars, we pay for all the financial run and all our inputs in pesos, we depend a lot on that.
As part of the renovations you are doing, do you have anything additional planned in terms of new amenities for 2025?
Yes, there are several projects. The idea is to remodel our sushi bar and the remaining Mexican one. Talks are already underway, and perhaps the dining room will be remodeled and turned into a theater, with a good stage, with dressing rooms, to present a range of shows of a higher level.
We are also thinking about creating a suite to offer for weddings. There are several plans, such as expanding our spa, and there has been talk of creating an additional Teppanyaki restaurant. We always have to keep up with customer preferences and with so much on offer in Cancun we have to know how to keep up.